Prophecy
by Anglachel
Summary: [COMPLETE]Sequel to Disfigurement. After a trip to France, Hermione and Draco return to England to find everything in disarray. With Sirius and Voldemort back, there hardly seems time to fix their own relationship, much less save the world...
1. Paris

Chapter 1

Two people Apparated in a small dark alleyway behind a shop in Paris, France. The girl was wearing a dark tank top and faded light blue jeans. Her thick brown hair was swept up into an elegant bun, her graceful pale neck leaning over to make sure her belongings had survived the trip across the English Channel. She propped her dark sunglasses on the top of her head, and peered around the corner. The boy was wearing a loose striped shirt, and dark jeans with sneakers. He was also wearing dark sunglasses, and seemed uneasy in his surroundings.

"Hermione," he said, running his hand through his silver blond hair. "Are you sure that-"

"He's going to meet us, Draco, don't worry," she said soothingly. "He wouldn't just leave us in the middle of France without a guide or a wizard in sight."

"It's Blaise," Draco said nervously. "You don't understand, do you Hermione? The guy isn't as great he seems, he's a Slytherin!"

Hermione grinned. "Darling, aren't you a Slytherin too?"

"Yeah, Draco," someone piped up sardonically. "You don't seem like the type to call the kettle black."

They turned around to see Blaise Zabini leaning against a brick wall, looking at his nails with a rather smug expression on his handsome face.

"How long were you there?" Draco hissed.

"Long enough," Blaise replied coolly, "To hear you act like a complete prat. Since when has Draco Malfoy been afraid of anything besides spiders?"

"You're afraid of spiders?" Hermione asked, snickering. Draco flushed instantly, his cheeks bright red.

"Not overtly," Draco replied snappishly. "Blaise, stop acting like an idiot. Hermione has faith in you, but I most certainly don't."

"Relax," Blaise said, waving his hands smoothly. "I'm not going to get your father to come trail you all over France. First off, he's in Azkaban, and might find that rather hard. Plus, I'm a changed man."

"Changed?" Draco replied as if he hadn't heard correctly, though Hermione knew very well that he had heard the entire speech quite clearly. "Please repeat that."

"Shut up Malfoy," Blaise said carelessly. "You used to be one of my best friends, but I'm not doing this for you. Your girl happens to be a rather charming, and she sure knows how to convince people to do things."

Draco turned bright red and looked as if he would choke Blaise, but then thought better of it when a bunch of loud French teenagers passed by.

"Draco, stop over reacting," Hermione sighed, clearly tired of their bickering. "We have to go to the hotel, and then we're eating dinner with a French wizarding family that I met here a couple summers ago."

"Do they know anything about English politics?" Blaise quipped slyly. "They might recognize the Malfoy nose, and then Draco's disguise would be useless."

"Blaise," Hermione said, hiding a smile. "Don't antagonize Draco, he's already having a bad day."

He grinned, and motioned for them to follow him down the dirty alleyway out onto the sidewalk.

Hermione pulled her sunglasses back down, and hurried after Blaise, Draco right behind her.

"The hotel's just a block away from here," Blaise explained, as they passed by several rather confused looking muggle tourists. Circe, Draco's owl, hooted nervously, causing a few Parisians to cast them unbelieving looks.

"Les touristes," a man said disdainfully as they passed. "Ils sont tres stupides, n'est pas vrai?"

"Hey," Draco said, angry. "They just said-"

"Hush," Hermione said, grabbing his arm, pulling off her glasses so she could see him better. "We're tourists, and we're invading their home land, they have the right to be angry."

Draco was still angry. "But, we're not doing anything to them! We're just walking by, minding our own business."

"Shut up," she muttered, dragging him down the street. "We have better things to do than bother that poor man. Just calm down."

Blaise was waiting at the revolving doors of a rather fancy looking hotel. He pushed them through into the lobby.

The floor was made of marble; the counter was gilded with gold.

"This place is really nice," Hermione said, smiling at Blaise. "Thanks for taking us here."

"My parents own it, so it's all on me," Blaise said with a grin, straightening his designer shirt with a flippant gesture. "You two are my guests, and although Draco is still acting the jealous lover, you are my friends."

"Thank you so much Blaise," Hermione said, smiling. "We really appreciate it, right Draco?" She elbowed him, and he nodded willingly. Now he was feeling guilty about suspecting Blaise of misbehavior.

"Well, I'll get you two in your suite, and then I'll see you guys tomorrow, so I can show you the lesser seen side of Paris. You guys think you can get to your friend's house tonight without my help?"

"Sure," Hermione. "Thanks for everything Blaise."

"It's not a problem," he said graciously, ushering them up to the counter, and turning to the pretty woman at the computer.

"Marie, this is Hermione, and this is Draco," Blaise said. "They're friends, so give them a room in the east wing, and everything's on the house."

"Oui," she said, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

"What's that thing?" Draco asked, pointing to the computer.

"Shush," Hermione muttered.

Blaise laughed. "No, it's okay, Marie is a witch."

"Do I have to restate my question?" Draco asked testily, crossing his arms across his chest, trying not to pout.

"A computer is like a book," Hermione explained patiently as Marie handed over a set of keys to her. "It stores information, you're able to write on it, and you can play games on it."

"Interesting," Draco remarked, peering over the counter to look at Marie's computer. "I want one."

Hermione smiled fondly. "Maybe you can have my dad's old one, he's getting a new laptop soon."

"You two are on the second floor, the east wing," Blaise said, pushing them toward the elevator.

The elevator was your standard muggle elevator, with marble flooring and red satin walls. The bellhop stood lazily by the buttons, hipshot, leaning against the elevator, clearly bored.

He immediately straightened, seeing Hermione and Blaise.

"Monsieur," he said to Blaise, and then bowing deeply to Hermione. "Mademoiselle."

"Ah shut-up Pierre, she's with me, but now with me, if you get my meaning," Blaise said, giving Draco a significant look. "These are friends who've come from England to spend some of the summer here in beautiful Paris."

"Friends from school?" Pierre asked, giving Blaise a knowing look. When Blaise nodded decisively, Pierre grinned cattily.

"East wing, no doubt," Pierre continued, closing the elevator door behind Draco.

"Second floor," Blaise said.

"Bien," Pierre muttered, opening a little compartment next to the buttons. He pulled a long handle from the compartment, pressed the large red button on the top, and then punched the two button.

"Pierre goes to Beauxbaton," Blaise explained as the elevator made a rather unnerving groaning noise. "He's just getting some work experience here in L'Hotel Magnifique."

Pierre twisted the handle around three times, and then said excitedly, "Here we go!"

"Here we go where?" Hermione asked, and suddenly, the elevator began to twist and stretch. Everything blurred before her eyes, colors mixing dangerously, and it seemed as if Draco was somewhere near the ceiling, and Pierre was around her hand.

Suddenly, everything snapped back into place and Hermione found herself reeling, nearly falling over. Draco steadied her, and she smiled up at him gratefully. Then the elevator door opened, and they stepped out into the hallway.

The carpet was plush and the portraits were gilded with gold. Just then Hermione realized that the portraits were moving, and a woman in a dark painting wearing a starched wimple had just winked at her!

"Welcome to the Magic Wing!" Pierre said enthusiastically.

* * *

A/N: So this is the first chapter to Prophecy, the sequel to Disfigurement. If you haven't read Disfigurement, you'd better go read the first one asap. Everyone else, leave a review! 


	2. Settling In

Chapter 2

"The Magic wing?" Hermione said in disbelief.

Blaise smirked at her shock. "The regular muggle guests never see this part of the hotel, they have no idea that it exists. This wing is where you two Apparated earlier on this afternoon, in that dark deserted alleyway."

Pierre placed their trunks on the carpet, waved goodbye, then the elevator door closed behind him, and he disappeared.

"You two are in room 213," Blaise said, dragging them down the hallway. The portraits whispered amongst themselves, ducking in and out of frames to better see the new guests. "Here you go." Hermione gently placed her trunk on the ground, and slid the key into the lock. She turned they key and pushed the door open.

The room was decked to the brim with the most expensive commodities available in all of Europe. The bed was covered in satin and silk, a huge candelabrum hung in the middle of the room, illuminating every corner. An antique wooden desk sat in the corner, and a large wooden bureau encrusted with gold leaf sat opposite the desk. Hermione pulled her trunk in the room, and was tempted to gasp, but decided that it would be ill mannered.

"This is one of my favorite rooms," Blaise said, pulling the curtains back from the wide bay window. "It looks across the city, and you can see L'Tour D'Eiffel from here."

"Look, Draco," Hermione said, and she pointed to the tall spire in the far distance. "We could walk there."

"Well, I'll leave you two to unpack, and I'll see you tomorrow morning," Blaise said cheerfully, and without another word, skipped from the room, and closed the door with a slam.

Draco glared at the door, as if it was Blaise, and Hermione almost laughed.

"Draco, stop being so jealous," Hermione sighed. "He's just helping us out. And you have to admit; he's been very hospitable. He's let us stay in his hotel, he's giving us a tour of the city… what more could you want?"

Draco sat down on the bed, and he looked like he was at a loss for words. He scratched his head.

"I just feel that," he shrugged. "Perhaps we don't deserve to go on vacation. I mean, back at home, Harry is trapped with the Muggles, Sirius is back from the dead, and we're out here cavorting around."

"Draco," Hermione said, letting an edge of anger enter her voice. "We deserve a vacation. I know, I feel the same way about Harry, but there's nothing we can do about it. I promised myself that I would spend this summer getting to know you, and this seems to be the only way."

"You know me," Draco said, hurt.

"No," Hermione snapped. "Draco, I don't. I brought you back from the dead, and I love you. Those are the only two things I really know about you." She suddenly grinned. "Oh, and you're afraid of spiders."

He sighed. "You're right. But, I still feel guilty, like we should be doing something to help them."

Hermione sat down beside him and smoothed out his hair. "Of course, but, you need to relax and calm down. We've been evading and running into danger non-stop since May, and we're all very wound up. Especially you."

"Sorry Hermione," he whispered, leaning on her gently. "I'm just a little tired, and I guess I got a little freaked out when I saw Blaise. He's a reminder of what I used to be, and I hate that."

"Draco, you can't run from your past," Hermione said. "It'll just catch up with you. You can destroy your old ideals while still keeping your ideals, can't you?"

Draco nodded, but he wasn't so sure he could.

* * *

Hermione and Draco stepped out onto the Paris street as the sun set. The golden red streaked across the pavement, and they began walking.

"Darn heels," Hermione muttered to herself.

Draco looked down at her feet, and felt himself blush. She had such cute ankles…

"What are you grinning about?" she asked, nudging him slightly. He coughed into his sleeve, and shook his head.

"Nothing," he replied evasively. "Now, who are we visiting?"

"My friends the Boulangers," Hermione replied, as they walked in front of a small boutique. "They own an apartment here in Paris. They have a son about our age, and a daughter who just turned eleven. She'll be going to Beauxbaton next year with her brother."

"How did you meet them?"

Hermione grinned. "I was telling my dad that we needed to visit the Louvre, because I wanted to see the Mona Lisa. I told him that I'd read in a book called _Famous Artists Who Were Wizards_ by Iefan Adsworth, which said that Da Vinci was a wizard. Mrs. Boulanger happened to be standing nearby, and she interrupted to introduce herself. Her family showed us around Paris, and I've kept in contact with her ever since."

"That's a sweet story," Draco said, evading a little Jack Russell terrier that was pulling at his lead and nearly pulling over his poor little old mistress. He didn't want his pants to get dirty.

Hermione nodded, and then stopped in front of a stairwell that led up into a building.

"This is it," she said, and pushed him up the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a door. She knocked the lion knocker, and she almost swore she saw it winked at her. The door swung open, and a handsome young man with dark hair stood in the doorway.

"What are you selling?" the man asked, looking them up and down suspiciously. "Whatever it is, we don't want it." He was about to close the door when Hermione held up her hand.

"It's me, Hermione," she said. "I'm here to see your Mum."

"You're here to see Maman?" the young man said, looking her up and down again. Then he did a double take. "Hermione?"

"Luc," Hermione said warmly, giving him a big hug. "I'm surprised you didn't recognize me. Forgive Draco, he takes offense easily."

Luc looked over her shoulder; his face now open in welcome, and Draco nearly dropped the bottle of wine he was carrying as a gift.

Luc's eyes were the exact same shade as his father's.

* * *

A/N: Hah. The first chapter was a little dull... and now I've added the intrigue. Mwahahaha. Sorry about the cliffhanger. I just had to leave it off there. It seemed perfect at the time. Whatever. Leave a review:) 

anglachel


	3. The Boulanger's

Chapter 3

"What did you say your boyfriend's name was?" Luc asked, his brilliant grey eyes narrowing.

"I didn't," Hermione said, oblivious to Draco's shock. "Draco, Draco O'Riordan."

"_O'Riordan?_" Draco muttered to himself, adopting his usual cool attitude. He held out his hand, and Luc Boulanger shook it almost reluctantly. _Good_, Draco thought. _Two can play this game._

* * *

Hermione couldn't understand Draco's reluctance to speak with Luc. He had warmed up to Mrs. and Mr. Boulanger's presence almost immediately, and was a perfect gentleman to them. But when Luc asked him to pass the salad, Draco practically threw it at him; luckily, neither of Luc's parents noticed.

"So, how is school going, Hermione?" Mrs. Boulanger asked, her English flawless. "I understand Harry Potter attends your school."

Draco flinched and nearly dropped his fork, but Hermione ignored him.

"Yes, I'm good friends with Harry," Hermione said with a winning smile. "Harry is a very nice boy."

"Well, after Tu-Sais-Qui returned," Mr. Boulanger said, his deep voice echoing in the small dining room. "Mr. Potter has proven himself to be a valuable asset to the wizarding community. I'm sure you heard about him killing Tu-Sais-Qui in May. Of course, it was only temporary, but Mr. Potter has definitely acquitted himself admirably."

"Did you see it happen?" Marie piped up, her little face alarmingly excited. "Was Tu-Sais-Qui ugly?"

"Actually, Draco and I were in the room when it happened," Hermione replied, lying without a shred of guilt. She did not want to be associated with the incident if at all possible. "And yes, Voldemort was very ugly."

Everyone in the room dropped their silver simultaneously, and looked at Hermione as if she had just uttered the worst curse word ever imagined.

"Sorry," she whispered nervously.

"It's fine," Mrs. Boulanger said, smoothing her skirt worriedly. "Let's change the subject. When do you return to school?"

"September 1st," Draco said, cutting his meat slowly.

"Oh good," Mrs. Boulanger continued. "Then you can spend the next couple months with us, can't you?"

"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "We have to return at the end of July for Harry's birthday, and some school business."

"Well, in the meantime," Mr. Boulanger said benevolently, straightening his tie. "Luc can show you around Paris."

"We already have a guide, thank you though," Draco said quickly, very grateful that Blaise had offered his services. He reminded himself to thank Blaise when they returned to the hotel.

"Well," Luc said quickly. "They always say that two guides is better than one."

"When do they say that?" Draco asked ludicrously, but immediately shut his mouth when Hermione swiftly kicked him under the table.

"They say it here in France all the time," Luc said coolly. His mother shot him a warning look, but Draco missed it.

"We appreciate the offer," Hermione began, but then seeing Luc's crestfallen face, continued quickly, "And we accept."

Draco cast her a furious look, but she ignored him.

"How about we all meet tomorrow in the lobby of your hotel at 9 o'clock?" Luc suggested. "Then we can show you the magical side of Paris."

Hermione laughed. "Everything about Paris is magical."

"Very true," Mr. Boulanger said with a wry grin. "But you haven't seen real magic till you see the underside of Paris."

* * *

After bidding their hosts goodnight, Hermione and Draco hurried down the stairs and practically fell out onto the crowded sidewalk.

"Why did you accept that prat's invitation?" Draco snapped angrily. "I don't like him."

"Draco, you don't like anybody," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, pulling on the sleeve of his jacket. "You're so suspicious of everyone. First Blaise, and now Luc. How do I know you're not going to get all rude on me as well?"

"There's nothing wrong with Blaise," he grumbled. "He's predictable, I know him well. This Luc chap, he's fishy."

Hermione growled in vexation. "Draco Malfoy, stop being so darn protective of me. I can take care of myself, and you know it. If you don't stop acting like such guard dog, I'll abandon you in the middle of France and go off with Blaise!"

Draco practically screamed. "So this is why you were so darn eager to get Blaise to drag us around Paris, huh?"

"Don't be so stupid, Draco," Hermione snarled, "And pipe down, will you? You're making a fool of yourself. I died for you, and I'd do it again if you stopped acting like I was committing a crime or something!"

Draco instantly felt guilty for not trusting her.

"I'm sorry," he replied contritely, hating to admit that she was right, but knowing that she'd never forgive him if he didn't. What had he gotten himself into?  
"You better be," she replied angrily. "We came here to relax and get to know each other. Instead you're suspecting me of running around with other men, and accusing everyone of trying to pull a fast one over us. No one is trying to con us, least of all Blaise or Luc."

"Look," Draco said, immediately defensive. "Luc looks way to much like my dad for comfort. Did you see those kid's eyes. I swear, he has to be related to me. Those eyes were Malfoy eyes, and it scared me shitless."

"Don't use such language," Hermione said. "And, you're right. I did notice a vague resemblance. But, Draco, I think you're just seeing ghosts. Lucius Malfoy had one son, you."

"Lucius Malfoy had one legitimate son. He probably has many more, and I don't want anything more to do with my family. Least of all any half-brothers."

Hermione sighed. "I doubt that Luc is any threat to us. I've known him for five years; he's a good family friend. Even if he is your half-brother, I don't think he'd sell us out to a man who hasn't been a father to him."

Draco ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. "It's not that I'm worried he'll sell us out, or something. It's just that, I don't want any reminders of my past, Hermione. I've given up everything, and I mean everything, to be with you, I don't want to be reminded of the family I gave up."

Hermione looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"Were they ever a family to you?" she demanded.

Draco had to admit, that he could not answer her question.

* * *

A/N: You know the drill. :) 


	4. Luc's Worries

Chapter 4

Hermione pulled on her favorite jumper over her blouse, grabbed her purse, and hurried out into the hallway. Draco rushed out and shut the door gently, pushing the key into the lock and twisting.

"Hurry," Hermione said impatiently, tapping her foot. "Blaise and Luc were supposed to have met us two minutes ago!"

Draco shoved the key into his pocket, grabbed her hand and they ran to the elevator. She punched to button, and Pierre was there almost instantly.

"Ground floor?" he asked cheerfully as the door closed, and he was already pulling out the crank.

"Yes," Draco replied tersely. "Sorry, we're a little late."

Then the elevator began to stretch and squeeze, and Hermione closed her eyes, her stomach lurching dreadfully.

Finally, they hit the ground with a thud, and she slowly opened them. The door slid open, and she smiled at an elderly couple as they tottered onto the elevator. She grabbed Draco and hauled him out into the lobby.

Blaise was at the front counter, chatting with Marie amiably. As soon as he saw them, he made his polite excuses, and hurried over to them.

"Ready to go?" he asked, his beret tilted at a rakish angle. He winked at Hermione, who smiled back, much to Draco's chagrin.

"We're meeting my friend Luc too," Hermione said on tiptoe, looking for him. "He said he'd meet us."

Blaise stroked his chin. "Is he the chap with the grey eyes standing outside the front door?"

"Well, he's not here," Hermione said finally. "Perhaps he is outside. Let's go see."

"Maybe he forgot," Draco said hopefully. Hermione gave him a withering glance, and he looked at the ground shamefully. "Or not."

And as soon as they stepped outside the L'Hotel Magnifique, there was Luc, leaning against the stone wall, smoking.

"Bonjour," he said with a nod, holding his hand out to Blaise. "I am Luc Boulanger, Hermione's friend."  
Blaise shook Luc's hand firmly, grinning. "Boulanger, son of the infamous Jean-Pierre Boulanger, mathematician extraordinaire?"

"Yes," Luc replied with a smile. "My father is Jean-Pierre."

"Took a class from him once," Blaise said. "I think he liked me fine, but my grades were abysmal. Got kicked out of the school."

"My dad teaches at Beauxbaton, did you go there for a while?" Luc asked in interest, his eyebrows going up. "Because I didn't recognize you."

"I went for a few months," Blaise explained. "And then my parents had me go to Hogwarts, because they wanted me to be taught by Severus Snape. Which reminds me, Draco, how's good ol' Snape doing?"

"Ah," Draco said with a nervous look at Hermione. When she nodded, he continued. "He's fine, very busy."

"How are your parents?" Blaise continued as they set off down the street toward downtown Paris.

Hermione looked up in alarm. Draco bit his lip.

"We're, um… Estranged," Draco said lamely. "Bit of a fight with my dad, you know."

"Really, I thought he was in Azkaban," Blaise continued, oblivious to Hermione's panicked expression.

"Uh, the fight was before he got put in prison," Draco said quickly, hoping that Luc wasn't listening too closely. Unfortunately, he was, and he had a rather catty expression on his handsome face.

Hermione tried to change the conversation.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Apparently, Blaise didn't hear, and he blundered on.

"How's your mum holding up?" he asked. "I know she never really believed in the cause, she always told my mum that she thought it'd get you all killed."

"You could say that," Draco said cautiously. "Let's talk about this later, Blaise, Luc might not be entirely comfortable hearing about my sordid family affairs."

"Oh," Blaise cast Luc a discerning look. "You're right. I'll shut my mouth."

* * *

First they went to see the Arc D'Triomphe, walking along the Champs d'Elysées. The beautiful trees were waving in the light summer breeze, and Hermione took Draco's cool hand in her's, while Luc and Blaise chattered good-naturedly about Beauxbaton.

They Apparated across the street to see the Arc D'Triomphe, because the traffic was terrible, and there seemed to be no speed limit as they whipped around the round-about.

Hermione imagined Napoleon's army marching through the Arc, and shuddered. Draco wandered off to go look at the carvings on the magnificent Arc, while Hermione took a seat, just to gaze up at the imposing piece of architecture.

Luc sat down beside her, his handsome face set gravely.

"Hermione," he said suddenly, turning to her. "I never thought you were the type to hang around Dark wizards."

"Draco's not a Dark wizard," Hermione laughed, remember Draco stunning his father only a few weeks before.

Luc looked at her solemnly. "His father's in Azkaban."

"I know," she said flippantly. "Draco helped put him there. Stop worrying so much, you think I'd be going out with him if he was a Death Eater, or something?"

"And that Blaise fellow," Luc insisted. "He seems nice, but did you notice how he talks about the 'cause' so calmly? He supports it, that's why."

Hermione stood uncomfortably. "I trust Blaise, I know you don't. But I do. He's a good kid, and Draco trusts him. If I can't trust Draco, than who can I trust?"

Luc stood as well, taking her hand in his, clearly wanting to avoid talking about Draco. "You can trust me Hermione, you've known me for years."

She stared into his deep grey eyes, and couldn't shake the cold shiver of premonition that slid down her back. She pulled her hand from his grasp, and eyed him angrily.

"Can I?" she asked, her voice rough with raw emotion, walking over to Blaise.

Draco watched Hermione pull her hands from Luc's and walk away. He popped his knuckles nervously, glad that he had decided to trust that Hermione wouldn't cheat on him. If he had gone over, like he had wanted to, she probably would have gotten mad at him. He shook his head ruefully. It was his fault for falling in love with such an independent woman. But then he remembered Pansy Parkinson, and was glad that Hermione was able to save her own butt, as well as his.

Hermione walked over to Blaise, who was running his hand over stone pavement. She sat down next to him.

"It's too bad about that Luc kid," Blaise said finally. "He's nice, and he thinks he's doing the right thing, but he's going to try to do something about Draco."

Hermione looked down, unable to believe it, but knowing it was true. "I agree."

Blaise sighed. "I know Draco doesn't trust me either. Don't tell him this, but I know about what his Dad did."

Hermione looked up, shocked. "Then why did you ask him about it, if you already knew?"

"Thought it'd make him come out of his shell," Blaise continued glumly. "He's changed a lot. He's better, a lot better, but he's scarred by the fight with Voldemort, and his fight with his loyalties."

* * *

A/N: Okay, I don't think I'm going to be able to update until let's see... hmm. Monday? Sorry folks, but I have unavoidable deadlines... and papers to write... ergh. I don't think I've started on my essay yet... Anyhoo. See you all on Monday. 


	5. A Talk

Chapter 5

Hermione threw on her pajamas and jumped into bed, closing her eyes as soon as she was underneath the covers. It seemed that their relaxing vacation had turned into a war, and Hermione was very vexed over the situation. Draco plopped down beside her, groaning something about his feet.

"Draco," Hermione said suddenly. "It seems like everything's going wrong, you know what I mean? I was hoping this would be a chance to get to know each other, and instead, you and Luc are duking it out, you're intensely jealous of Blaise, and I'm stuck in the middle of it all, trying to forget about what happened just last month, and everything's going horribly wrong."

"Is this new?" he asked grumpily. "Everything's always been horribly wrong for us!"

She nodded grudgingly. "True, but it isn't supposed to be like this! I thought we had escaped all of our problems."

Draco shrugged tiredly. "Well, both of us have been avoiding what happened last month, as if it will hurt us to talk about it. The fact is, Hermione, it happened, and we can't just forget about it."

She rolled over, and looked him straight in the eyes.

"You're right," she said finally. "But, talking about it won't help, at all!"

"You're wrong," Draco said firmly. "You should express your feelings. I don't want to sound like a pychiatrist, but telling me how you feel will lessen the pain."

Hermione nodded slowly. "Okay, well. I feel trapped by our circumstances. I've basically sold my soul to the devil; I'm worried about you. Harry is avoiding getting killed, and Ron is pining away for Harry. Luc thinks that you're going to kill me, and is convinced that Blaise is a supporter of You-Know-Who."

"Interesting," Draco said, nodding sagely. "How does that make you feel?"

She grinned and hit him over the head with her pillow.

"You tell me about what's troubling you, now," she said after the feathers had settled.

"Well," he started slowly. "My dad wants to kill me, my girlfriend is apprenticed to the devil, one of my best friends has no idea why I'm estranged from my family, and I have this funky scar on my stomach-"

"What?" Hermione said suddenly, bolting up. "Show me."

Draco hesitantly drew up his shirt and revealed the snake scar that curled across his stomach maliciously.

"Good lord," she said, sitting down heavily, sending a fluff of feathers through the air. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

He shrugged. "I didn't think it was important."

Hermione shook him by the shoulders. "Don't you understand, you dolt? That means that Hades has marked you as his own, and you're just as screwed as me!"

Draco scratched his head. "Well, I guess that means we're both screwed together, huh?"

She scowled at him. "Don't be so crude."

He looked up at her innocently. "I wasn't being-"

"Don't even start, Draco Malfoy."

"Fine, fine," he finished weakly. "I'll be quiet now."

Hermione nodded, satisfied. "Now, continue with what is troubling you."

"Like I was saying," Draco said, eyeing the pillow nervously. "You're not going to hit me over the head with that, are you?"

When she shook his head, he proceeded again.

"My scar hurts quite frequently, I haven't been in contact with my mother in a month or two, Dumbledore knows more than he's willing to tell us, and-"

"You're right!" Hermione crowed triumphantly. "He knows more about why Sirius is back than he would tell us, I remember seeing this kind of shifty look in his eyes, like he knew something, but wasn't ready to tell yet!"

Draco nodded reluctantly. "But it just doesn't seem like Dumbledore to withhold information from us. He's been so open before, I just don't understand why he'd suddenly not trust us."

Hermione shook her head emphatically. "It's not that he doesn't trust us, he wants us to have a good summer break without burdening us with more bad news, I know that's it."

* * *

Hermione awoke the next morning with a bit of a headache.

"Argh," she muttered loudly. "My head…"

"Hey Hermione," someone said, leaning over her. She shrieked, and Draco yelled at the top of his lungs.  
"What'd you do that for?" he said, holding his nose.

"I'm so sorry," she said, covering her mouth so he wouldn't see her laughing. "Did I punch you?"

He grinned, and tried to mop away a bit of the blood with a tissue. "Yeah, you did. But that's okay, it means you love me."

"In a sort of second grade way," she said wryly. "I'm sorry, darling."

"Whatever," he said with a shrug. "I brought up breakfast!"

After Hermione had dressed, she sat down at the small table next to Draco. He had bought four chocolate covered croissants, and a steaming cup of café au lait.

Hermione bit into the fresh croissant and sighed loudly.

"Like it?" Draco asked with a smile, picking up his.

She kissed him instead of answering, and moved on to finish her croissant. When she had drunk the last dregs from her cup, she turned back to him, wiping her mouth on the back of her sweatshirt sleeve.

"So, what do you want to do today?" she asked as soon as he had finished his coffee.

"I'd like to see the Louvre, but I don't know what Blaise wants to do. He might want to take us somewhere else, and we could do the Louvre another day," Draco said.

Hermione swept the crumbs off the table into her hand.

"Definetly," she said, "Let's go downstairs."

* * *

The elevator door swung open, and the two of them stepped out into the lobby. They couldn't see Blaise, so Hermione assumed that he was waiting outside for them.

"Do you think Luc is out there with him?" Draco asked, his tone guarded, yet unmistakably hostile.

"I don't know yet," she said, craning her neck. "We'd best just go check."

They stepped out onto the pavement, and there they saw Luc leaning against the wall, smoking. Next to him was Blaise, wearing a rather mutinous expression.

"Hey guys," Hermione said breezily. "What are we doing today?"

Luc looked up at her, and Hermione's heart froze. He looked sad, as if something dreadfully wrong had happened.

"What's wrong?" she asked falteringly.

"I'm sorry Hermione," Luc said quietly. "It didn't have to be this way, but I had no choice."

"What do you mean?" she asked fearfully, knowing without having to ask, but refusing to admit to herself that Luc had betrayed them. "What have you done?"

"Hold still," someone said, and she felt the sharp jab of someone's wand at the small of her back. "Do not move, and do not speak. This is a sting operation; you Hermione Granger, Blaise Zabini, and Draco Malfoy are all under arrest by the French Magical Ministry. Will you quietly step into the car?"

Hermione looked up at Luc, as the agent pulled her arms behind her back, and she could not summon up hatred for him.

"I'm sorry too Luc," she said simply, seeing herself reflected in the wizard's anguished grey eyes.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! please please please review! I don't mean to beg, but your opinion means a lot to me... XOXO anglachel 


	6. After the Arrest

Chapter 6

Hermione ducked her head, and the officer pushed her into the muggle car. Draco sat beside her motionless, his arms also tied, and it seemed that the officials had also confiscated his wand.

"We're in trouble now," Draco muttered as the officers conferred outside. "Thanks to your friend."

"He thinks he's doing the right thing," she murmured tiredly. "Do you think they'll put Blaise in another car?"

Draco nodded, craning his neck to see the other car. "Yeah, they did. He looks rather murderous, doesn't he?"

Hermione sighed. "Well, I would be too, if I were him. We're going to have to make this up to him somehow. It's our fault he's been arrested."

"No," Draco said dangerously. "It's Luc's fault."

"Draco," she said tiredly. "Don't go blaming Luc. We're the one's who weren't straight with him about who you were, and what's going on. I mean, if we had told him we had helped vanquish Voldemort, perhaps this wouldn't have happened."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Do you think he would have believed us? It makes sense that Harry was the one to destroy Voldemort, but a Malfoy and a witch that nobody's ever heard of?"

Hermione cocked her head, and grinned. "I'm not that unknown. Remember that awful article Rita Skeeter wrote about me? Well, I'm sure that it reached France."

"How that is going to benefit us is beyond me," Draco said irritably. "Oh, and here come those stupid police officers, or whatever you call them."

* * *

Hermione was unceremoniously dumped in a chair in front of a desk, and a rather portly looking wizard sat opposite her, his face drawn and weary. 

"Morning Ms. Granger," he said, his English accent shocking Hermione slightly. "Welcome to the French Ministry Investigation of Foreign Crime."

"Thank you," Hermione said, inclining her head graciously. They had dragged Draco away to be quizzed in another room.

He ran his hand over his face. "We received a tip from a French citizen that you and your companions, a Mr. Draco Malfoy, and Mr. Blaise Zabini, were supporters of You-Know-Who, recently destroyed by Harry Potter."

Hermione smiled forgivingly. "I am afraid there has been some sort of mistake. Mr. Malfoy and I have no connections with You-Know-Who directly, and though I cannot vouch for Mr. Zabini assuredly, I can tell you that he is a very upstanding young British youth."

The officer straightened up, adjusting his tie, staring at her with doubt. "Mr. Malfoy is the only son of a prominent Death Eater, currently imprisoned for crimes against several students, and his son is most likely involved in his father's criminal activities."

Hermione looked at him imperiously.

"I am afraid you are mistaken, Mr.-"

"Mr. Smith," the man finished for her. "Continue."

"Draco Malfoy is a close friend of Harry Potter, and he helped defeat Voldemort last month," Hermione said, and glared at Smith when he scoffed. "And if you don't believe me, feel free to contact Mr. Albus Dumbledore, a good friend of ours."

Smith stood, his annoyance clear in his agitated manner.

"I will then," he said, whipping out a quill. When she said nothing, he summoned his owl, and wrote a quick note. The owl flew off after he tied it on and they sat in silence, Hermione serene and calm, while Smith was irritated beyond all belief.

Momentarily, a letter appeared out of nowhere, sitting on Smith's desk ominously, the curly green handwriting clearly recognizable. Hermione smiled triumphantly, and watched with pleasure as Smith tore open the envelope and pulled out the parchment, his hands shaking in excitement.

"_Dear Mr. Smith_," he read aloud. "_Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Zabini are all students of mine at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the United Kingdom. Mr. Malfoy has severed ties with his family, and Ms. Granger has an exemplary record. She and Mr. Malfoy both assisted in the destruction of Voldemort's_-" Smith flinched at this, but continued, "_body this past May, and Mr. Zabini is one of our best students, and I can assure you that none of them have any contact whatsoever with Voldemort_," again Smith twitched, "_I am sorry to hear that they have been taken into your custody. You are holding them without any basis for your claims, and if they are not released, the English Ministry of Magic will come and fetch them. Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore."_

Smith closed the letter, once again, the tired old man she had first seen when she was shoved into his office.

"I'm sorry," he said, running his still shaking hand through his hair. "You are free to go, and I offer you my sincere apology."

* * *

The three of them met on the sidewalk outside the French Ministry. The guest entrance was a public bathroom, with a talking faucet, if you twisted it enough. 

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, wanting to cry, but knowing that it would only create an uncomfortable atmosphere. "I never dreamed that he would turn us into the government."

Blaise patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it too much," he said with a shrug. "At least Dumbledore intervened on our behalf, we would have been on our way to Azkaban without him."

"Well, that just ruined our day," Draco said angrily. "Because of that stupid, ponce Luc-"

"Stop it Draco," Hermione said sharply. "We've got better things to do than complain. After all, he could be your brother."

Draco snorted. "If he is, I don't want anything to do with him!"

* * *

That night, back at the hotel, the three of them sat at the table over their takeout dinner. Hermione hadn't felt like eating out, and Blaise had agreed, saying that fancy dining would only make his day worse. 

"Well, do you want to stay here?" Hermione asked Draco as he wolfed down his steak with a voracity that was very intimidating.

Draco shook his head. "We've got too many problems back at home, we need to go back. With-" he glanced at Blaise. "Your friend back, and Dumbledore needing our help, I feel guilty going on a vacation."

Hermione tried to hide her disappointment.

"Okay," she said quietly. "We'll just come back next summer, or over spring break. Thanks for everything Blaise."

Blaise shrugged. "It was fun while it lasted. You all come back over spring break, and we can have a really good time. The two of you have stuff to deal with back home."

Hermione nodded, stifling her unhappiness.

* * *

A/N: For whoever asked, in their review, this is the sequel to one of my previous stories, Disfigurement. Just go to my homepage to see all my writing and previous writings. Everyone review! 


	7. Hermione's Family

Chapter 7

A young couple suddenly appeared on the shady street corner of a mundane small Muggle community in rural England. The girl seemed tired and exhausted, as if she had been through a rather tiring situation, and the boy was simply furious. His blue eyes stared out from under pale eyelashes, angry and sullen.

"Look, Hermione," he said suddenly. "I don't understand why you think we should let that idiot get away with getting us in trouble, I knew he was a bad apple from the beginning-"

"Stop rubbing it in Malfoy!" Hermione snapped, sliding back into the former nickname she had for the boy who'd made her first five years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry miserable. He drew away from her, the hurt apparent on his handsome face.

He folded his arms across his chest. "So is that all I am to you?"

"Of course not," she said, picking up the end of her trunk. "Draco, if you'd just leave it alone, we could leave it all behind us. It's not the end of the world."

He rolled his eyes flippantly. "It only ruined our only chance for a decent vacation for a long time. Hermione, you and I both need a break, and I don't think we're going to find it at your parent's house."

"And what, we'd find a break at your parent's house?" she said, letting her anger get the best of her. "Stop complaining and move on."

* * *

Hermione knocked the door handle to her parent's house and sighed internally as the setting sun cast it's golden rays across her back. The door opened, and Ms. Granger peered out from behind. Her face lit up upon seeing her youngest child, and hugged her enthusiastically.

"Oh, Hermione," Ms. Granger said, folding her hands tightly, clearly excited. "Do come in, and who is your guest?"

"This is Draco, Draco Malfoy," Hermione said diplomatically, deciding that it would be unlikely that her parents would recognize his name. Thankfully, Ms. Granger did not read the Daily Prophet, and smiled genially at her daughter's boyfriend.

She clapped her hands. "Wonderful! Wonderful! Gaelen has brought his girlfriend also, and everything will be just perfect!"

"Gaelen brought his girlfriend?" Hermione asked in horror. "Who is this time? Another stripper?"

Ms. Granger cast her daughter a horrified look. "A stripper? Hermione Granger, I forbid you to use that language in this house. Of course not… What do you mean by another?"

* * *

Hermione dumped her clothing in her drawer, and emptied another drawer into that one as well for a good measure. Draco threw the door open and set his trunk down on the bed.

"Where do I sleep?" he drawled seductively. Hermione couldn't help but grin.

"Exactly where you belong," she replied with a sly smile. "On the floor."

"Oh, really?" Draco said, raising his eyebrow.

Hermione dropped the act, and grinned. "You can borrow my pink sleeping bag."

He groaned. "I had hoped you meant that like-"

"We all know what you want," Hermione said with a laugh, kicking him in the shin lightly. "And while my parents and older brother are in the house, you're not getting it."

* * *

"So, where are Gaelen and this new girlfriend of his?" Hermione asked as she helped her mother with the shepherd's pie. "I mean, why isn't he here helping out? I mean, even my boyfriend is doing something!" She motioned to Draco, who was skipping around the dining room, putting out silverware rather haphazardly.

Ms. Granger sighed. "Hermione, I'll make Gaelen help me in the kitchen tomorrow, and you can go off and do whatever you do with that young man."

"Stop implying that we behave inappropriately," Hermione scolded. "And besides, it's really none of your business."

Ms. Granger smiled knowingly. "I may be an old dentist, Hermione, but I know young love when I see it. Maybe it won't last, but it sure is sweet while you have it."

Hermione ran her hands across the lettuce, as if she could smooth out the crinkles in it, just like she wanted to erase all the wrinkles from her relationship with Draco.

"Well, Draco and I have been through quite a lot together," Hermione said quietly.

Ms. Granger looked up from the shepherd's pie, a small smile on her lips. "You really love him, don't you?"

Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but then marched in Gaelen, his shock of dark hair releasing a curl on his forehead, his electric blue eyes running over the kitchen with his usual possessive nature.

"Hey, little sis," he said carelessly, rubbing her hair. Hermione scowled and smoothed her hair down. They had both inherited her mother's Irish hair, thick and unruly. However, Gaelen's was short, and you couldn't tell that it was unmanageable when longer.

Hermione scowled in his direction the moment her mother looked away. "Hello, Gaelen."

"Who's the blond fellow in the dining room?" Gaelen asked, picking up an apple from a bowl.

"A friend of Hermione's from school," Ms. Granger said coolly. "Put that down Gaelen, I don't want you to spoil your dinner." Gaelen put the apple down guiltily.

Hermione tossed the salad quickly, and turned back to her brother, folding her arms across her chest and leaning against the counter. He put one hand on the wall, and watched her warily.

"So who's the new girl?" Hermione taunted, reminding him of his past amours with an arch of her eyebrow. "If she's like the other one's, I don't want to bother to meet her."

Gaelen flushed, thinking of the past girls he had brought home to his parents. "Look, she's not like that."

"What's she like then?" Hermione said. "Because you're usually so close mouthed about these girls of yours, sometimes they rarely get to speak for themselves, because you're too busy telling them to be quiet!"

"Hush, Hermione," Ms. Granger scolded. "Gaelen's changed. He's finally settled down, don't you go antagonizing him."

Suddenly, a pale girl with dark hair walked in, and Hermione recognized her immediately.

"Well, if it isn't Cho Chang," she said sarcastically.

* * *

A/N: You know the character Gaelen, Hermione's brother, who was just introduced in this chapter? Well... my parents were going to name me Gaelen if I'd been a boy (which I wasn't, thank god!) and I decided to name him after the older brother I don't have. He's my imaginary older brother (you know how people have imaginary friends? I have an imaginary older brother!) and just humour me here. Okay, everyone review please!  



	8. A Discussion with Cho

Chapter 8

"What are you doing here?" Cho said, her amazement apparent in her crystalline voice. "I didn't think-"

"Gaelen is my half-brother," Hermione explained with a great deal of chagrin. "We have the same mother."

Cho tried to smile at Hermione, but her smile faltered when she saw the look of pure animosity that Hermione shot her way. Gaelen noticed, and instantly took the defensive.

"You stay out of this Herm," he warned. "Cho and I are in love, and I don't care what you or anyone else says-"

"Cho?" Draco sputtered, entering the room.

Cho paled dramatically, which Hermione had thought impossible, her hands flying up to her face in shock, or horror, Hermione wasn't sure which.

"Cho?" Gaelen said, taking her hands in his strong grip. "What's wrong? It's just Hermione's friend from school."

Cho took her hands from his grasp, and watched Hermione and Draco with pleading eyes. Hermione and Draco were silent.

"Why doesn't anyone tell me anything?" Gaelen grumbled suddenly. "How come you all know each other, anyway?"

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair, with Hermione's dad occasionally asking for the butter, or the salt, and the clanking of silverware on porcelain. Hermione's eyes remained fixed on her plate, and Draco found the backyard very interesting, and stared at the hydrangea plant fixatedly. Cho seemed very fascinated with the flower arrangement, and Ms. Granger was rather confused.

* * *

After dinner, Hermione and Draco held conference on her bed. Hermione rubbed the handmade quilt, worriedly, and then looked up at the solemn and taciturn Draco.

"Well, what do we do?" she asked, holding her elbows. "Gaelen clearly doesn't know that she goes to our school."

"She could tell everyone at school about us," Draco said, rubbing her shoulders. "And then we'd be in a lot of trouble then."

Hermione sighed tiredly and fell back onto the pillow with a thud. "My stupid, stupid, stupid brother. Why couldn't he have brought home another plastic fake blonde Barbie doll? That would have saved me so many problems."

Draco stroked his chin. "Well, this situation is comforting to me," he confessed.

"Why?" she asked, sitting up.

He grinned. "Well, it proves that my family is normal compared to muggle homes!"

Hermione socked him gently, and was about to start tickling him, because she knew that would totally break him up, when the door slowly swung open.

Hermione froze, and looked up to see Cho standing nervously in the doorway. She pulled her hands back to her elbows, and stared back up at the Ravenclaw girl insolently.

"I'm sorry, was I interrupting anything?" Cho said quietly, turning to leave.

"No, you weren't," Draco said suddenly, almost unable to keep a straight face. Hermione punched him. He gasped, and pretended to hit her back.

"I wanted to talk to you both," Cho said, turning back. "I mean, it's rather obvious that neither of you like me, but we're both in a difficult situation."

"Are we?" Hermione asked coolly. Draco shot her a nasty look.

"Yes, we are," Draco said with a polite nod.

"You both know that Hermione's brother has no idea that I'm a witch," Cho said slowly, as if she was having trouble admitting it to herself. "And the school has no idea that you two are friends."

"Are you blackmailing us?" Hermione asked dangerously. "Because I have no qualms about hexing you-"

Cho put out her hands as if to ward Hermione off.

"No! No!" she said nervously. "Nothing of the sort. I was just hoping we could meet a compromise. You don't tell Gaelen, and I won't tell anyone about your friendship."

"You're still blackmailing us," Hermione accused, and winced when Draco pinched her.

Draco nodded politely. "Of course, Cho. We had no intention of telling Gaelen."

Cho sighed a giant breath of relief. "That's good. I had no real intention of telling anyone about you two either, I was just hoping that it would act as incentive."

Draco smiled benignly, and waved gently as Cho backed out the door. Hermione glared at him as soon as the door was shut.

"Stop looking at me like that," Draco said, flopping down, nearly crushing one of her stuffed animals. "I did what I had to."

"I'm going to tell Gaelen," Hermione said fiercely. "Because I never agreed to your stupid little committee agreement!"

Draco sighed, and tossed a small stuffed koala at her. "Don't be ridiculous Hermione. You know that if you tell Gaelen about Cho being a witch, Cho could easily let it slip to one of her friends that she happened to see us at her muggle boyfriend's house, and then where would we be?"

"How do you know she won't tell everyone anyway?" Hermione hissed. "She's probably a back-stabbing little bitch like her friend Marietta, ready to betray at a moment's notice!"

Draco grabbed her hands, worried that she'd poke out her eye, or even his. "Whoa. A little pent up anger here, eh?"

"A little?" she spat. "A little? That little monster betrayed us to Umbridge fifth year!"

Draco's smile dropped. "You know that I'm sorry about that?"

Hermione glared at him. "Yeah right."

"You don't have to take your anger out on me," Draco said quietly, rubbing the back of her hands with his thumb. "I thought I'd made it all up to you."

She nodded and smiled at him shyly.

"You're right, everything before last year is over," she said, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "You've changed."

"You've changed," he repeated, running his hands lightly across her back. She placed her hands on his chest, and kissed him gently, her lips barely caressing his.

Suddenly the door slammed open.

Hermione threw herself backward, and started staring at her nails, recognizing her brother's trainers stalking across the door threshold, toward her.

"What are you two doing?" Gaelen demanded. "Please don't tell me you two were doing what I think you were doing?"

Hermione looked up at him innocently. "Doing what?"

"You got that right," Gaelen said, his bad temper infectious. "You two know my girlfriend from somewhere else."

They looked at each other. There was no denying it.

Hermione nodded.

"Where?" Gaelen said, suddenly exhausted. "I'm sorry to be so rude Hermione, but I really am in a rather sore mood. Cho is avoiding me, as if I've done something terribly wrong."

"I'm sorry, Gaelen," Hermione said, her annoyance with him evaporating. "We can't tell you."

Gaelen sighed, burying his face in his hand. "Fine. I'm sorry for disturbing your privacy." He walked from the room, his anger apparent in his quick and tense step.

"Whoa," Draco said blearily. "That boy needs to calm down."

Hermione shrugged, shoved Draco off the bed.

"Why don't I sleep on the bed," he said hopefully. "I promise, no monkey business."

She grinned, and tossed him a sleeping bag.

* * *

A/N: Yup yup. Write a review! 


	9. Behind Flourish and Blott's

Chapter 9

Hermione awoke to feel something tapping on her arm. She blearily opened her eyes, and found a tawny owl scratching her hand, an envelope in his beak.

"Hello Errol," Hermione groaned. "What are you doing here?"

The owl dropped the envelope on the bed, and flew over to the windowsill, where he made himself comfortable.

Hermione tore open the letter and immediately recognized Ron's haphazard scrawl that spread across the page like a malignant desiease. She reminded herself to tell him to fix his handwriting. She skimmed the letter and let out a small whoop, causing Draco to wake instantaneously.

"What?" Draco groaned, holding his wand out. "Who's dead?"

"No one's dead!" Hermione exclaimed loudly. "We're just going to the headquarters!"

"What the heck are the headquarters?" Draco grumbled, climbing out of his pink fluffy sleeping bag. "And why does nobody tell me anything?"

* * *

"You're leaving already?" her mother asked at breakfast, clearly dismayed by Hermione's news. "You just got here."

"We've got to go get our books for school," Hermione lied effortlessly. "Very important. Should take a great deal of time."

Even her father looked rather upset, and Mr. Granger was not known for putting out a great deal of emotion.

Gaelen dropped his fork angrily. "Hermione, it's rather rude of you to show up and then leave in a drop of the hat. It's just not polite."

Hermione shot him a nasty look. "Put a sock in it."

"Hermione," Ms. Granger warned. "We have guests."

"Have fun," Cho volunteered with a tentative smile. Hermione smiled back, but Draco would later attest that it had looked like she was grimacing in pain.

* * *

Hermione threw all of her clothing back into her trunk, grateful to be escaping her parent's house, and her brother's watchful eye.

"So, where is this headquarters thing?" Draco asked, shoving his cap on his head jauntily.

"Ron is meeting us at Diagon Alley with a friend, and then we'll all Apparate from there."

"But-"

"What now?" she asked irratibly. "It's quite simple, Draco. I don't see why you need to analyze everything we do-"

"No!" he interrupted. "Why can't we just Apparate there in the first place? I don't want to have to go to Diagon Alley! What if I see one of my old friends-"

"Draco, this is the only way to do it, and if you stopped being so nosy, you'll find out why!"

* * *

In Diagon Alley, a tall red-haired boy waited anxiously for a young couple behind Flourish and Blotts. He ran a fluttering hand through his hair, his stomach churning dreadfully.

A voice came from the shadows, darkly amused.

"Stop fussing, Ron."

"I can't," he replied urgently. "What if they forget, or something? Then you and I would be stranded out here until someone could come get us!"

Another voice chuckled grimly.

"Don't worry about it lad, they'll come. I'd be more worried about assasins if I were you."

"Assasins?" Ron asked, a note of panic entering his voice. "Why would there be assasins?"

The first voice came back, the low baritone sending a chill down Ron's spine. "Well, some of us are supposed to be dead."

Suddenly, a loud clattering came from behind a pile of empty crates, and Ron jumped a meter into the air.

"OW!" someone shouted. "Draco you ass, you stupid stupid-"

"Hermione!" Ron called joyfully, as a girl with bushy brown hair stepped out from behind a crate, pulling her trunk, her pretty face drawn into a scowl. He ran up to her and hugged her. Draco stepped out from behind Hermione, his eyebrows drawn into a straight line.

"Why the long faces?" someone said sarcastically from the shadow of the building. "Get them caught in something?"

Hermione dropped her trunk. "Sirius?" she asked in a wavering voice. They stepped out into the light, and Hermione burst into tears.

"Oh, Sirius," she sobbed. "We thought you were dead!"

Sirius grinned and hugged her. "I was."

He had lost the haggard starved look he had adopted after Azkaban, and he was handsome in a dashing, dangerous way.

"Have you seen Harry yet?" she managed to choke out after Draco passed her his handkerchief.

Sirius shook his head, and his face clouded with something that looked like disappointment. "No."

"Well, I'm sure he's dying to see you," Hermione said, sniffling slightly. "He was furious when Dumbledore wouldn't let him stay at Grimauld Place with you."

"We're not at Grimmauld place anymore," Moody said gruffly, his limp more apparent than ever.

"Where did you come from?" Draco asked in horror.

"Over there," Moody said with a jerk of his hand. "Ah, I remember you. Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. How's your father?"

"I don't know," Draco replied stiffly. "Hopefully he's dead."

Moody grinned. "That's what I like to hear." His magical eye roamed over Draco's face, and the pending silence was disturbing.

"Is he fine?" Ron ventured with trepidation, unsure whether disturbing Moody was a sound plan.

Moody nodded finally. "Yes, but I'm warning you Malfoy," he said darkly, pointing at Draco. "One false step, and you're dead meat."

"What do you mean by dead meat?" Ron said nervously. "Isn't that sort of a redundant phrase? I mean, meat is already dead-"

"It's a muggle saying," Moody said. "I picked it up on a trip to America. I liked it, so, I try to use it as often as possible. Good way to intimidate."

Draco shot daggers at Moody, clearly remembering his ten minutes as a ferret.

Hermione looked up at him. "Well, you were an awfully cute ferret," she said consolingly. He snorted, and Hermione simply grinned.

"Well," Moody said, handing Draco a slip of white paper. "Read that, memorize it, and then eat it."

"Eat it?" Draco repeated, holding the paper as if it were about to explode. "Eat it?"

"Just do it," Moody snapped. "I don't have until Judgment Day."

Draco opened the paper with shaking hands, and read the contents to himself.

_The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found at 56 Knockturn Alley_.

"Knockturn-" he said, confused.

"Shut up!" Ron ordered as Draco chewed on the piece of paper, repeating the words inside his head. "Now, let's go."


	10. Number 56 Knockturn Alley

Chapter 10

Number 56 was a dismal place at the very end of Knockturn Alley. The old flat had once been a busy Poison shop, but when the Ministry created a "No Evil-Poison Selling Shops" law after someone accidentally misread a poison shop sign as "Apothecary" (no one is quite sure how that happened), the store had been closed down and converted into a rather dismal house. The old woman who had owned the house had a son, but he died ignominiously in a strange accident with sausages. The grieving old woman sold her house and then moved to America, in hopes of finding sunny beaches and oranges. She found neither, as it turned out; she died upon reaching New York.

But then the house was sold to an old man. The old man, was a certain Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

* * *

Hermione stood at the end of Knockturn Alley, looking at the row of empty lots before her. A rusty old wagon sat in a pile of dirt, while a saw stuck out of an armchair on top of a table.

"Interesting," was all Draco could say. "I assume this is-"

"Don't say it out loud," Moody warned. "Or we'll have all of Voldemort's Death Eaters on our tails."

Ron shuddered slightly to himself.

"Now, think what you memorized," Sirius intoned, and Hermione and Draco thought furiously. Suddenly, a dark gloomy house popped out of nowhere.

"Kind of reminds me of home," Sirius said, without any fondness whatsoever. Hermione understood completely, number 12 Grimmauld Place had had the same dark aura that hung around the building like a shroud.

"Welcome," Moody said, grinning maniacally. "Perfect place for a headquarters, eh?" He hit his fist against the door, completely ignoring the door-knocker. "Right in the middle of the Dark magic meeting place, right down the street from everything illegal. No one would ever suspect us here!"

The door swung open, and Ginny Weasley poked her head around. Her face lit up, seeing Hermione standing uncomfortably on the door step.

"We've got lunch waiting," she said, swinging the door wide open, and ushering them in.

* * *

Hermione was instantly reminded of the stately houses of the nobility, made entirely of gold and marble. Indeed, the inside of number 56 Knockturn Alley had once been beautiful. But now, the sweeping grand staircase was covered in dust, the gold chandelier was broken, and the house was musty and dark.

"Just like home," Draco said to himself, his heart constricting suddenly, and he clenched his hands.

"I'll show you to your room," Ron said gaily, leading them up the creaking stairs, and then off to the right. "You'll be right next to Ginny."

"Oh good," Hermione said cheerfully. "You can't believe how wonderful it is to see another girl about my age, I've been stuck with Draco for the last couple weeks. Well, I take that back there was Cho-"

Draco clapped his hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Ron spun around, his blue eyes wide.

"Cho?"

"Oh shit," Hermione said, instantly guilty. "Forget that Ron."

"Okay," he said slowly. "But, if this is important, be sure to tell Dumbledore…"

"Okay, okay," Draco said quickly. "Now where is our room?"

"There are six big bedrooms in the house," Ron explained. "The master, and then five slightly smaller. You guys get one of the big rooms, because there's two of you." He stopped. "Unless, you don't want to share a room-"

"No, that's fine," Draco said hastily. "Nothing wrong with that."

Hermione grinned, and elbowed him.

"Here's your room!" Ron said, opening the double doors. The room had a bay window, with a nice view of the street, as well as a giant bed. Hermione was relieved to see that someone had changed the sheets, as well as put on a clean comforter and pillows.

"Thanks Ron," she said as he backed out of the room. There was a private bathroom, which had also been cleaned, and a large closet.

A desk sat in the corner of the room, dusted, but locked.

"Hey Hermione," Draco called to her as he looked at the desk. "My dad has a desk just like this."

Hermione looked at him in alarm. "He does?"

"Oh yeah," he continued. "Same patterning and everything. But his has his initials carved on the top." Draco fingered the carved initials on the top of the desk.

"M.M," Hermione read aloud. "I wonder if it belongs to another Malfoy."

"Only one way to find out," Draco said cheerfully. "I'll go get Sirius."

Draco came back presently with Sirius, who was still munching on his bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich.

"Hmm," he said through bites. "Interesting." He stuffed the sandwich into his back pocket and got out his wand.

"Hey, how did you get your wand?" Hermione asked. "I thought it was destroyed when you went through the Veil."

Sirius grinned. "Well, Dumbledore says I dropped it, but I suspect he had something to do with it. Now about this desk… ALOHOMORA!"

The lock did not click.

"Fascinating," Sirius said. He put his wand in his other back pocket, closed his eyes, and touched the lock. It glowed bright red, and then clicked open. The desk fell open, and Sirius opened his eyes.

"Ta da!" he said, taking out his sandwich again, and then ambling out of the room.

"What the hell?" Draco said.

"Well, maybe Hades gave him some special powers," Hermione said. "He gave me some."

"What did he give you?" Draco asked.

"You'll see," Hermione said, looking into the desk.

It hadn't been opened in many years, and the dust was overwhelming. However, the past owner hadn't cleared out the desk, and many letters and papers remained.

"Look at this!" Draco yelped, wiping dust off an envelope.

"What?" Hermione asked, pulling out a quill from a dried up inkwell. "What is it?"

"It's addressed to my dad!"

"Your dad!" Hermione exclaimed. "Read it!"

"_Dear Lucius_," Draco read aloud_, "I hope this letter finds you well. Many things have arisen, that I feel it is my duty to inform you of. My daughter has run off with a wizard from France, and is currently cavorting around Paris, married. I am sorry to tell you this, but the marriage must be broken off, as she is as of the moment, married to someone else. I intend on going to Paris and dragging her back if need be. I shall keep you informed on what happens. Sincerely, Talfryn Malfoy_."

"Malfoy?" Hermione asked in confusion. "That would mean the girl in the afore mentioned letter would also be a Malfoy therefore-"

"If she was marrying my dad, she would be marrying within the family," Draco said grimly. "I wonder who this girl is?"

"And why was she engaged to her own relative?" Hermione questioned. Draco rifled through a few more letters, and pulled out another, also addressed to Lucius Malfoy.

"What have we unearthed?" Hermione asked in horror.

Draco set his jaw grimly. "I don't know, but I intend to get to the bottom of it."

* * *

A/N: More Malfoy family intrigue... heh heh. Sorry, that family just has too many secrets for me not to make up a few more. Please leave a review! 


	11. Natalya Malfoy

Chapter 11

"Oh Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley gushed happily. "You look simply wonderful!" She hugged her foster-daughter with great abandon.

"Goodness," Mr. Weasley said, standing enthusiastically. "Everyone's here! I am simply overjoyed to hear that everyone will be staying the rest of the summer!"

Hermione laughed good-naturedly. "Yes, well I've brought Draco along, and Harry should be coming in just a few weeks."

Mr. Weasley stuck out his hand at Draco, surprising Hermione greatly. "Good afternoon, Draco."

"Mr. Weasley," Draco said uneasily, shaking the elder Weasley's hand with great trepidation.

Mr. Weasley cleared his throat. "I believe apologies are in order."

"There's no need for that," Draco replied hastily, holding out his hands. "I owe you an apology."

"Hush child," Mrs. Weasley scolded. "We've let our prejudices get in the way. Our Ronald says you are a good boy, and that you have changed, and I believe him."

"Thank you for interrupting Molly," Mr. Weasley said with a roll of his eyes. "Now, Draco. We've let our prejudices get in the way. Our Ronald says you are a good boy, and that you have changed, and we believe him."

"I just said that," Mrs. Weasley said, her hands on her hip, tapping her spoon against the back of her husband's head. "There is no excuse for plagiarizing, Arthur."

"I wasn't plagiarizing," Mr. Weasley replied. "I was simply taking the words out of your mouth."

Draco grinned, and realized with a great deal of regret, that this was how his family was supposed to be.

* * *

That night, as Hermione was sleeping soundly, Draco awoke with an unsettling feeling in the back of his head. He lit a candle and walked over to the desk in the corner of the room.

He lifted the desktop and stared at the relics of a bygone era. He opened the left drawer and pulled out a stack of photos. He stared at the first one, tears welling in his eyes as he stared at the portrait of a young girl in black and white, her pale eyes staring at him solemnly.

Suddenly, she stood.

"Hello Draco," she said.

Draco dropped the picture in fright, the voice disturbing his soul.

"Don't be frightened," the girl said, sitting down again. He picked up the flimsy photo, wanting her pale stare to disappear.

"I'm not," he said, his voice quavering slightly. "Why would I be afraid? Who are you?"

"Guess," she replied mischievously.

"Are you the daughter of Talfryn Malfoy?" he asked, his voice quavering slightly. Her pretty face twisted into a horrendous scowl.

"Talfryn Malfoy was my uncle, the stupid wretch," she replied.

"How do you know my name?" he asked, almost afraid of what she would answer.

She smiled, and a glint appeared in her eyes. "Because I, Draco, am your aunt."

"My aunt?" Draco asked in disbelief. "I don't have an aunt. My father is an only child."

"That's what they want you to think," the girl replied coldly. "And as you should know, having been dead for an hour or two, things to do not always appear as they are."

Draco groaned, and pulled up a chair, knowing that this would be somewhat of a long story.

"I was born four years after your father, the perfect child of an elderly couple," the girl said. "My parents called me Natalya, and I was beloved by all. Including my brother."

"My father?" Draco ventured.

Natalya nodded. "However, problems arose, and I was carted off to live with my uncle, Talfryn. Lucius remained behind to guard the family estate."

"Are you the girl mentioned in the letter from Talfryn to my father?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

Natalya smiled. "Yes, I am."

"Wait, how does-"

"Let me continue," she said. "As I was saying. Things are never as they appear. Look at the letter."

Draco pulled out the letter from the desk, and held it out.

"Pour the wax from your candle over the letter."

He did so, and suddenly, bright red letters glowed in the yellowing parchment.

"Read it aloud," Natalya ordered smugly.

"_Dear Natalya_," Draco read aloud. "_Beloved sister. Things are not going well at Malfoy Mansion. Mudbloods_-" At this, Draco turned and looked over his shoulder at the sleeping Hermione.

"Continue," Natalya replied gently, seeing where his worried eyes strayed.

"_Mudbloods are stirring up trouble with Our Lord_." Draco flinched, but continued."_Wife is doing well, but she suspects something. Love, Lucius_."

"Love?" Draco asked, his voice shaking.

"Love," Natalya replied scornfully. "Look where it got us. Of course, it wasn't very accepted, us being brother and sister, after all. But Arthur and Morgan le Fey got away with it, why shouldn't have we? But no, Lucius had to get married to Narcissa. Hah. She never even suspected something was going on, right under her pretty nose."

"Are you-?"

"No," Natalya replied harshly. "I am not your mother. I certainly wanted a child like you. Beautiful, strong, magically gifted."

"What happened?"

"I got pregnant," Natalya said with a careless shrug. "The boy wasn't all there. I gave him to a friend who desperately wanted a child. She didn't care that he was the product of inbreeding. She didn't care that he was stupider than a cow."

"What did you name him?" Draco asked, already knowing the answer, but needing some confirmation that he was horribly wrong.

"After his father, of course," Natalya said.

Draco's stomach sank, but he allowed his aunt to continue.

"Well, of course, Narcissa heard, and was of course, furious. She ensured that when you were born three months later, that you were the legitimate heir to all of the Malfoy property and fortune. She made a blood pact with your father, so, my child cannot claim the name or the money. That will remain with you for eternity, even though your father did try to knock you off. Stupid man."

Natalya looked at him, her youth tearing at his heart. "But I have not finished with my story."

"Go on," Draco said tensely.

"Well, despite this, Naricssa knew that I was too dangerous. She knew that I loved my brother more than life itself, and that I would do anything to insure my hold over him. In a way, I don't blame Narcissa," Natalya continued with a sigh. "She loved him too, and for that, I cannot incriminate her. Anyhow, she had her brother-in-law kill me."

Draco nearly fell out of his chair. "Kill you?"

"I'm dead," Natalya said casually. "By Rodolphus Lestrange's hand. He used the Avada Kedavra curse."

"So, you want me to kill my mother for killing you?"

"No," Natalya said, a maniacal glint entering her pale eyes. "I want you to kill Lucius. He could have saved me, but he chose the path of least resistance. His death will only seal his fate."

Draco's gut sank even further when he heard this.

"And I've been trying so desperately to escape this family," he choked out. "This name, this face, it hangs around my neck like an executioner's rope, dragging me down. I cannot escape from the clutches of this damned family. It is trapped in my blood."

* * *

Draco climbed into bed after blowing out the candle out and putting the picture away. As he curled up, with Hermione's warmth against his back, he wondered if she was asleep.

After Draco closed his eyes, and his breathing set into a rhythmic pattern, Hermione's eyes flew open, and her hand went to her thundering heart. She had heard everything.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I know. Incest isn't all that well liked, but I had to stay true to the plot, even if some parts are a bit... gross. But life isn't there to make you happy. Please review, tell me if you hated it, I won't change the chapter, but if it makes you feel better to scream at me, by all means, do it. 


	12. A Talk with Sirius Over Bacon and Lettuc...

Chapter 12

Hermione heard Draco's breath even out, his movements still, and finally, he was asleep. She crept out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans, as well as a tank top.

She gently opened the door of the bedroom, and walked down the creaking grand staircase. A faint light glowed from one of the servant doors that led to the kitchen, and Hermione walked steadily toward the flickering candle light. She warily pushed the door open, and found Sirius sitting on a bench eating a bacon and lettuce sandwich, staring at a candle with his dark eyes fixed upon the flame. He looked up when she entered, and smiled in a fatherly way.

"Hello Hermione," he said, motioning for her to sit beside him. "Would you like a bacon lettuce sandwich as well?"

"Why not?" Hermione said with a grin, helping herself to a piece of bread and a couple slices of bacon. "I can see I am not the only one who cannot sleep."

Sirius smiled tiredly. "I'm trying to enjoy the Earth while I remain here. After all, I did not enjoy my time here when I was young. I began to appreciate it more after Azkaban, I must admit."

Hermione nodded, and took a deep bite of her sandwich. The rich taste of yellow mustard filled her mouth and nostrils, and she breathed in delightedly.

Sirius continued, "But I must ask you, why are you hanging around that scum?"

Hermione winced as his derogatory tone, her insides squishing together as she thought of her beautiful Draco, sleeping soundly upstairs. "He's changed," she replied, knowing that Sirius had every reason to hate a Malfoy.

"Ron said that he's 'changed' as well, but I don't know," Sirius said, staring at his lettuce as if it would come to life and bite him. "Yeah, the whole Voldemort thing seemed to prove his merit, but how do you know that he's not just a spy for the other side?"

"He's not," Hermione said. "Did Ron tell you what happened?"

"No," Sirius said, with a shrug.

She elaborated on her encounter with Draco's doppelganger, her journey to the underworld, the flying Furies, Hades, rescuing Draco from death, etc.

After she was finished, Sirius looked at her with a great deal of respect. "You faced Hades for a Malfoy?"

"Sirius, you just don't understand," Hermione sighed. "I love him, and Hades wasn't all that bad. Persephone helped us out a great deal, and she's sent me dreams."  
"Well, Persephone would know about forbidden love," Sirius said with conviction. "And if she approves of Draco, he must be okay."

Hermione smiled, wiping the crumbs off of her hands onto her paper plate.

"Anyhow, since I've found my true love," Hermione said, "Who's your's?" Sirius frowned and waved her away.

"Don't have one," he replied gruffly.

Hermione changed the subject. "Sirius, have you ever heard of someone named Natalya Malfoy?"  
Sirius froze, and then looked at her with shock. "Where did you hear that name?"

"Just in passing somewhere," Hermione said, lying blatantly.

"Lying doesn't befit you Hermione," Sirius said.

Hermione wondered how he knew she was lying.

"A picture, Draco found it in an old desk," Hermione said stiffly. "She was talking to him."

Sirius looked down at his half-eaten sandwich, and then placed it on his plate slowly, as if he was afraid of dropping it.

"Natalya Malfoy was the most beautiful girl to spawn from that family. She was talented, gorgeous, and most of all, she was raised apart from her parents. As a result, she wasn't as a fanatical pure-blood as her brother. However, family legend goes that she fell in love with Lucius Malfoy, and had a child to him."

"Did he love her back?" Hermione asked.

Sirius shrugged. "Lucius Malfoy cannot love. He thought she was beautiful, never mind that she was his little sister. Lucius can be amazingly charming when he puts his mind to it. A perfectly good girl threw her life away for a man who did not love her, and was married."

Hermione shook her head. "That's so sad. Why did she allow that to happen to her?"

Sirius stared at her straight in the eye, his golden eyes locking on hers. "Hermione, some of us fall in love with the wrong people. We cannot help who we love, but if someone had held any influence over Natalya Malfoy, she would have not died in some back alleyway, forgotten to the world, and found by a muggle bum."

Hermione looked away. "It's so horrible…"

"Yes Hermione," Sirius said, his gaze never wavering. "Don't let that happen to you. Remember this, blood is thicker than love."

* * *

Hermione pulled off her jeans and tank top and climbed back into bed. Her hand gently brushed across Draco's head, and she pulled back warily, remembering Sirius' warning.

"What am I doing?" she whispered. She lay down again, feeling the warmth radiating from Draco across her back.

_She was standing in the middle of a field. Golden grain swirled about her, rich amber the color of Sirius' eyes. The yellow sun streamed across her skin, and she could feel the gentle whisper of the wind across her._

_Suddenly the ethereal Queen Persephone was standing before her, her beautiful face draped with sorrow and confusion, her hands stretched out to Hermione._

_"Hermione, is it not known that when one falters, they will fall?" she said, her voice joining with winds…._

Hermione awoke with a start, rivulets of sweat dripping down her bare back. What did Persephone mean by her dire warning? She looked over at Draco, and her heart twinged. His pale hair was fluttering as a gentle breeze came through the open window, his cheeks flushed with dreams and hopes. She traced her finger across his brow lightly, and knew what the Queen of the Dead meant.

* * *

A/N: Sigh... Well, that was chapter twelve. More to come. Expect a visit from the Furies in the next few chapters, or at least Hades. And don't worry, Natalya comes back. As well as Gaelen and Cho. Everyone comes back! That's great for most characters, except Voldemort. Sigh. We can't have everything tho. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave a review. Esp. if you haven't before. Thanks everyone! 


	13. Borgin and Burkes

Chapter 13

"So, what do you want to do?" Hermione asked Draco after everyone had left the dining room after breakfast. Ron had a job at Fred and George's shop on Diagon Alley, and the two of them were alone until Harry came in a few weeks.

"I think we need to-" Draco stopped. "I need to research the history of a family member. She's been dead for a long time."

Hermione knew who he was talking about, but decided to humor him. "Okay, we can do that. It'll be easy; we're on Knockturn Alley. I'm sure we can find some artifacts."

Draco nodded, and he seemed preoccupied.

Hermione and Draco stepped out of number 56 Knockturn Alley onto the gloomy street.

"Let's hit Borgin and Burkes, Mr. Borgin hates my dad, he won't say a thing about my mysterious reappearance."

"Okay," Hermione said nervously, remembering Harry's wild tales of his misadventure with Floo Powder the summer before second year. The description of the Hand of Glory had given her nightmares for weeks upon end.

* * *

Borgin and Burkes was a dimly lit place with many glass cases that housed horrid objects that made Hermione's skin crawl.

"Oh, Draco, look," she said, pointing with a grimace at a jar of human eyeballs. A blue eye stared at her pointedly, and she felt as if they were watching her as they walked unsteadily toward the counter.

Suddenly, oily Mr. Borgin appeared at the counter, and his mouth dropped the moment he saw Draco.

"Mr. Malfoy!" Borgin exclaimed, "What a um… Pleasant surprise! How are you today, searching for anything in particular?"

"Yes, Mr. Borgin," Draco said, adopting a sophisticated and arrogant demeanor almost instantly. "But, I would prefer if you would not mention my visit to anyone, it would cause some consternation. Now, as I was saying, I am looking for some possessions that my father might have sold to you a couple years back…"

"Ah yes," Borgin said, his face lighting up. "Your father sold me a great many things that day, among them a beautiful ruby necklace, several deadly poisons, and my favorite of all the things I acquired that day; a fork that released noxious fumes."

"Do you know who the necklace belonged to?"

"I believe it was your late aunt's," Borgin said, and if he knew of the rumors, his face did not reveal it. "Beautiful rubies, I sold it to a young woman. I believe she was a Lestrange."

"There are few Lestranges left alive," Draco said. "Borgin, telling me which of the remaining Lestranges you sold the necklace to, would further improve your existence."

Borgin was clearly uncomfortable, but he knew how difficult Draco could make his life. "She was the daughter of Ingrid. I believe her name is Ninian."

"Ninian Lestrange?" Draco said sharply.

Borgin nodded frantically. "Niece of Rodolphus Lestrange, I understand you are well acquainted with Mr. Lestrange."

"Rather well," Draco said, examining his nails. "Very well." He tossed Borgin a few galleons. "If this information is false, I shall be very vexed. Good day Mr. Borgin."

Hermione and Draco swept out of the store, and back down Knockturn Alley.

"So, are we searching for belongings of your Aunt's?" Hermione ventured, although she knew full well that they were.

"Yes," Draco replied tersely. "We are. But first, we have to go to the desk, and find an address for Ninian. We also need to figure out who that desk belongs to."

* * *

The desk was open still, and the yellowing parchment spilled across the desktop. Draco quickly riffled through several labeled envelopes, and finally, pulled one out.

"Ah ha!" he exclaimed excitedly, pulling out the letter from within. His eyes skimmed over it.

"Marissa Malfoy," he proclaimed. "Owned this desk. Who she is, I have no idea. And let's see if dear Marissa owned a address book." He shifted through another pile of belongings and seized a black book embossed with her name.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"It's the address book," he said excitedly, pouring over the alphabetical list of names. "Here we go, Ninian Malfoy."

"Well, does she live near here?" Hermione asked.

"Number 23 Diagon Alley, Apartment 34, London," Draco replied, clearly overjoyed. "Just down the street! We can go now, you just travel a good ten feet behind me, and no one will ever know that we're connected."

Hermione jostled her way through the thickening crowd, and she could see Draco's blond head bobbing through the sea of people. She saw him disappear into a doorway, and she inconspicuously made her way there. She slipped into the doorway, and found Draco waiting for her in the shadow of the door.

"Ready?" he asked, his voice wavering slightly. She could tell that he was nervous. "You knock."

"Why me?" Hermione asked.

Draco looked flustered. "Well… I don't know, you just knock."

"Draco, she's your relation, not mine," Hermione said irritably. "You knock, for goodness' sake."

"Fine," he said after a long pause of uncomfortable silence. "We're going to regret this. He lifted the heavy knocker, and rapped the door several times.

The silence was deafening.

Finally, the door swung open.

A young woman stood in the door, her attractive mouth drawn into a seductive pout.

She smiled charmingly the moment she saw Draco, completely ignoring Hermione. Hermione felt her hackles rise.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the girl purred.

"I'm looking for Ninian Lestrange," he said. The girl frowned.

"Ninian is my older sister, I'll go get her."

The girl vanished into the house, leaving Hermione and Draco standing on the doorstep, in the deep heat of July.

"She's not trustworthy," Hermione growled.

"Hermione, stop it," Draco said tiredly. "I don't want to argue with you."

"You're really obsessed with this thing about Natalya-" Hermione realized her mistake belatedly, and covered her mouth in horror. Draco's eyes widened, and he stared at her.

'You know?" he choked out.

"I'm so sorry-" she gasped, "I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd react this way."

"Well, well," a voice came from the doorway. "If it isn't the infamous Draco Malfoy."

* * *

A/N: Leave a review, please. Please. Please. Okay, I'll stop begging for now, but you know what I want... :) Thanks all.  



	14. Ninian Lestrange

Chapter 14

"Hello," Draco said nervously. "You must be Ninian."

Hermione looked up into the crystalline blue eyes of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, and she was instantly jealous.

"Yes," Ninian said. "Ninian Lestrange. Who's this?"

"Hermione," Draco said, smiling at Hermione. "My girlfriend." Hermione smiled back at him, and her heart swell. Ninian ushered them in, and shut the door.

"So, Draco, why have you ventured out to our neck of the woods?" Ninian asked, quickly casting a blocking charm over the door. "I haven't seen you since you were in diapers."

"I'm researching a relative," Draco said. "And Mr. Borgin said you had bought a necklace belonging to a certain relation of ours, and I am interested in buying it from you."

Ninian's face darkened. "By all means, have it. The damn thing is cursed. Cursed to hell. Whatever you do, don't give it to anyone."

"What do you mean it's cursed?" Draco asked, alarm entering his normally serene voice.

She shuddered. "The first time I wore the necklace, my husband was hit by some crazy muggle driving down a street at some impossible speed. He was in St. Mungo's for three months. The second time, my sister flushed her engagement ring down the toilet. The last time I wore that damned thing, I nearly got beheaded by a flying plate."

"Oh dear," Hermione said. "That's terrible."

Ninian nodded in agreement. "It's so beautiful though. I bought it for a steal. You two can have it, consider it your wedding present."

Draco laughed. "I don't think we're getting married-"

"Ha, that's what you think," Ninian said triumphantly. "I'm always right about these sorts of things. Anyhow, perhaps I just have bad luck, and it's not the necklace at all. You two wait right here."

She disappeared into the back of the house, and Draco and Hermione sat down on the couch.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Hermione blurted out finally. "I heard her speaking to you, and it was just so horrible, that I was quite speechless for sometimes. Then I went to talk to Sirius, and he straightened me out on the whole thing."

Draco sighed, and buried his face in his hands. "Look, just trust me next time. I wouldn't have gotten mad at you. I've been looking for a way to tell you for the last ten hours."

Ninian reentered, someone close behind her. She and her husband sat down on the other couch, and she was holding a flat box nervously, as if it were a deadly poisonous snake.

Ninian's husband was so ordinary looking, that for a moment Hermione almost didn't notice him. She wondered if he ever felt overshadowed by her amazing presence, but when she saw the adoration on his face as he gazed upon her, he was almost as beautiful as she.

Ninian handed the box to Hermione hastily.

"Here you go," she said. "Go ahead and open it. I don't think it's dangerous when you're not wearing it. The moment you put it on, prepare for disaster."

Hermione pulled off the lid with shaking fingers, revealing a beautiful ruby necklace lying on a white satin pillow. The rubies sparkled in the light, a twisting vortex of red appeared on the whitewashed ceiling.

"It is stunning," Hermione admitted. "But clearly dangerous."

"It belonged to Draco's aunt, Natalya," Ninian volunteered. "I'm sure you already know all about her. She was a very interesting person. I met her only once."

Draco tore his gaze unwillingly away from the necklace, and turned to Ninian. "Do you know anything about someone named Marissa Malfoy?"

Ninian frowned. "Of course, Marissa was the only daughter of Talfryn Malfoy. She was a good friend of Natalya's. She was very beautiful. She's around somewhere. But when her brother died and her best friend died, she went into a terrible depression, and hasn't been seen since."

"Did you say her brother died?" Hermione asked, placing the lid back on the box reluctantly.

"Yes, Mihangel died in a rather tragic accident. He was only sixteen. Of course, it was all covered up to confuse the muggles and the public, but it was very sad. Terrible, terrible way to die."

"What happened?" Draco ventured to ask.

"The public was told he fell into a vat of sausage meat and was ground up, but rather, he was killed by one of Voldemort's followers."

"Who?"

Ninian looked hesitant to tell, but her husband spoke up instead.

"Lucius Malfoy, do you know him?"

* * *

Draco and Hermione stumbled into the bright street, Draco reeling. Hermione fell back as they walked back up Diagon Alley and then turned onto Knockturn Alley.

"Draco," she said, once they were past the gaggle of hags that hung outside Borgin and Burkes, cackling madly. "Stop."

He stopped, so she could catch up.

"My dad, killed an innocent boy," Draco choked out. "He was only sixteen, for god's sake."

"Draco," Hermione said urgently, grabbing him by the shoulders. "You're only sixteen. Your father didn't hesitate to kill you. What happened to Mihangel was an unfortunate accident, it wasn't your fault."

"Look, it was his bleeding cousin! You just don't kill family members, it's not logical!" he shouted, causing a strange look from a warlock nearby.

"Stop it Draco," Hermione said calmly, remembering what Sirius had said about blood being thicker than love. "He tried to kill you as well, and you're his son."

"But it was okay to try and kill me," Draco raged, near tears. "I made him mad, he has a right."

"What are you, insane?" she asked, slapping him across the cheeks lightly. "Snap out of it. We have the necklace, we can find more out about Natalya, and revenge her and Mihangel's death. In the meantime, blaming yourself isn't getting us anywhere."

He breathed deeply. "You're right, I'm freaking out for no reason."

"No, it's not for no reason. You are right, but freaking out about it won't help the situation. Plus, you're a member of the Order of the Phoenix for a reason."

They were now at the foot of number 56 Knockturn Alley, which had miraculously appeared out of nowhere.

"Oh Hermione," he suddenly sighed, leaning on her. "What would I do without you?"

Hermione grinned. "You'd be dead, for one thing."

* * *

A/N: Sorry to leave you all at a cliffhanger... they're just so much fun... Heheh. Well, everyone kindly leave a review, and I'm sorry I didn't post over the weekend. 

Someone mentioned that my chapters were a little short, and I'll be happy to lengthen them, but you I won't update as much as I do now. So, you guys make the call, and I'll be happy to oblige.

anglachel


	15. Over Dinner

Chapter 15

Ron had returned from work, and everyone was gathered around the table eating.

"Do you think we could get Harry to come here early?" Ron asked Mr. Weasley between humungous bites.

Mr. Weasley shot his youngest son a dirty look. "You know very well that Dumbledore doesn't want Harry coming to early, Voldemort's supporters are still looking for him. Keeping him safe is more important."

"But he'll be so unhappy," Sirius pleaded, clearly remembering the period he had been cooped up in Grimmauld Place. "He needs to be around his friends, or we'll witness another round of what happened last time. Remember?"  
They all remember too clearly. Harry had become absolutely spiffing mad, and had yelled at everyone about being left out.

"Well," Mr. Weasley cleared his throat importantly. "That was dreadful, but it was for his own good, and besides, it's perfectly alright if he's angry."

"That's easy for you to say," Ginny grumbled. "He won't be mad at you."

"Ginerva Weasley, that is no way to talk to your father," Mrs. Weasley scolded. "Finish your salad."

"I hate salad," Ginny groaned.  
"For a girl who is going into fifth year, you are acting very immaturely," Mrs. Weasley said severely. "Besides, salad will help you grow."

"To be quite honest," Ginny growled, "I don't need to grow anymore. I need to shrink."

Mrs. Weasley chose to ignore this remark, and turned to Ron, who was also picking at his salad half-heartedly.

"How was work, Ron?"

"Fine," Ron replied without gusto, pouring olive oil over the wilting lettuce. "Just spiffy."

Ginny cast Ron an alarmed look. "How come George and Fred couldn't make it to dinner?"

"They had some fancy dinner party they were invited to at some upper class twit's house," Ron said scathingly. "And of course, they didn't want to miss an opportunity to run around in their new muggle clothes."

Hermione looked up interest. "What were they wearing?"

"Something Armani," Ron snarled, annoyed that Hermione had shown interest in his brother's newfound wealth. "Bloody ridiculous if you ask me."

"Well no one's asking you, Ron," Ginny replied angrily, slipping her lettuce onto the ground slyly.

"Giorgio Armani is a very prestigious company," Hermione informed the others. "Very expensive."

This seemed to rub Ron the wrong way, and he set into his salad with such voraciousness, that Sirius edged away quietly.

"Well, that sounds splendid," Mrs. Weasley said brightly. "What did you do today Ginny?"

"I cleaned one of the bedrooms," Ginny said grumpily. "Had to get Mad Eye to fix me up after some strange crab-like thing bit me. Got me a upset and horribly angry."

"Hasn't all worn off," Sirius said wryly. "But you should have seen her then… Good lord, she chucked this ugly old lampshade at me, and almost took my ear off."

"Hmm," Mr. Weasley mused aloud. "Must have been a Crabifier, very interesting species. They do remind me of those little blue crabs you can buy at the market."

"Pardon?" Draco choked, nearly squirting milk out of his nose. "Did you say Crapifier?"

Everyone laughed, including Mr. Weasley

"No, no, a CraBifier," he said, emphasizing the 'B.' "Fascinating species, it won't wear off for another week or so, so stay out of Ginny's way if you like your ears."

"I am not grumpy," Ginny replied moodily. "And I am certainly not crabified."

"What did you do, Sirius?" Mr. Weasley asked, while Ginny went off into a tangent about how she hated her life.

"I cleaned out the ball room," he said brightly. "We should hold a ball there sometime when all of this has blown over."

"That would be wonderful!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Would I have to wear a dress?" Ginny asked doubtfully.

"I thought you liked dresses," Ron asked, completely befuddled. "I even bought you one for your birthday-"

"Put a cork in it, Ron," Ginny snapped.

"Oh, okay," Ron said hastily. "I'll talk to someone else."

* * *

Draco and Hermione were getting ready for bed, completely exhausted after their sumptuous meal of Mrs. Weasley's finest.

"We should show the necklace to Natalya before we go to bed," Draco volunteered after he had climbed into his pajamas.

"Sure, why not," she said tiredly, climbing under the covers. "You can do it."

"All alone?" Draco asked.

"Of course," Hermione sighed. "She's your relation, not mine. I don't want to have anything to do with her."

"You're not jealous, are you?" Draco asked in disbelief, hardly believing his ears.

She rolled her eyes. "Draco, I just don't think this is any of our business. What is dead is dead, and should not be unearthed. Remember, Mahatma Gandhi said if everything was eye for an eye we'd all be blind."

"Who's Mahatma Gandhi?" Draco questioned, waving the necklace box around in confusion.

"Never mind," she said, rolling over. "Just hurry up and get on with it, so I can go to bed."

Draco pulled out the picture of Natalya, who was still sitting on her chair, impatiently tapping her foot.

"I was wondering when you'd return," she said, pouting. "I thought you'd forgotten about me."

Draco sighed. "Of course I didn't forget about you. I brought something that you might recognize."

He opened the lid of the box, and showed her the ruby necklace. She smiled, and clapped her hands gaily.

"I remember that one," she said happily. "It was my favorite. I got it for my sixteenth birthday from Lucius."

"My cousin Ninian says that it's cursed," he said, closing the box. Natalya shrugged.

"It's only cursed for those who I don't like," Natalya explained. "Ninian's a sweet girl, but not worthy of the necklace."

"Who is worthy?"

"Me," she said importantly. "But I'm going to let Persephone have it. She'd look best in it. Unfortunately, rubies really don't suit my coloring."

"Oh," Draco replied, hoping he sounded like he knew what he was talking about. "By the way, did you know someone named Marissa Malfoy?"

"Of course," she replied happily. "My best friend. How is she?"

"Uh…" Draco trailed off. "I don't know how to explain what's happened…"

"What do you mean?" Natalya said, her voice suddenly sharp.

"Well, Marissa's brother, Mihangel, was murdered," Draco said shakily. Natalya grinned.

"I know, he and I talk all the time."

"He was killed by my father," Draco continued.

Her eyes flashed, and she stood furiously.

"He was always jealous," she hissed. "Of course. When I left him, I picked up with Mihangel, and I suppose he never got over that, did he…"

"You split with my dad?" Draco questioned, seeing her furious expression.

"Of course, the slimy scum was cheating on me with another woman, god damn him. So I left him for Mihangel, who loved me back. That stupid Lucius…"

"Well… I suppose you still want me to kill him," Draco said uneasily.

"Oh no," Natalya said gleefully. "I'm going to do it myself!"

* * *

A/N: Mwahahahah. I have to admit, I don't like Natalya much... which is sad, especially since she's one of my own creations... sigh. Ah well. Leave a review!  



	16. Megaera's Return

Chapter 16

"Okay then," Draco said nervously. "I don't know how you'll do that, but I'll leave that to you."

Natalya turned to march out of her picture, but then turned back to him.

"If you look inside the box, you'll see that the necklace has gone. Queen Persephone has already accepted her gift," she said, and with that, walked out of the frame with furious purpose.

Draco frantically opened the box, and found that she was correct, and the magical necklace had vanished. All that remained in the box was a single blood red pomegranate seed.

* * *

_Hermione was standing on a beach, her white cotton dress whipping around her shins, her long brown hair flowing with the wind. The sun fell over her like a warm blanket, reaching the roots of her aching body, and cleansing her of exhaustion. _

_The waves curled over one another, the golden sun reflecting across the deep blue waves that held the deepest secrets on earth. _

_Suddenly, Persephone rose from a wave, her face serene and stunning. She smiled benevolently upon her protégé._

_"Greetings Hermione," she said, caressing Hermione's head with a loving gesture. _

_"My queen," Hermione said, curtseying. "Before you tell me why you have come, can you explain something to me?"_

_"What I know I shall reveal," Persephone replied cryptically._

_"What exactly did you mean by when falters, one will fall?" Hermione questioned, knotting her cold hands in the cottony fabric of her dress. _

_"Hermione, you must believe in what you love, and if you doubt yourself and your love, you will fail in your quest to restore your world to the balance," Persephone answered. "When you falter, you shall fall to the depths of hell, from where I cannot save you." _

_Hermione nodded, understanding completely. _

_"Now, I must discuss with you why I came," Persephone continued. She took something from her dress, and held it out to Hermione. _

_"What is it?" Hermione asked as Persephone stepped forward and put it in the cold flesh of her palm. A flash of red caught her eye, and she gasped._

_"The blood of millions is trapped within the stones," Persephone whispered, her haunting eyes burning in Hermione's chest. "This will save your life, a gift for the altar of peace." Persephone closed her eyes, as Hermione_ _opened hers._

_

* * *

_

She sat up. Draco was fast asleep, his hair fanned across the pillow. She opened her fist, and there was the ruby necklace, glittering in the moonlight.

What had Persephone meant? And why had she given her this cursed necklace? She knew that Natalya had given it to Persephone, but why had Persephone given it her?  
Hermione clutched it in sweaty hand, and lay back down. In the next instant she was asleep.

* * *

Draco awoke sleepily. His gut hurt terribly, and he felt as if he had the stomach flu. He was about to get up to go to the bathroom, when he caught sight of the shadow of the open window on the floor.

He gasped. What was that?

* * *

Hermione awoke with a start, to find Draco also awake.

"Baby, what's wrong?" she asked, rubbing his back. He made a choked noise, as if he was suffocating, and she sat up instantly, alarmed. "Draco?" He held up a hand, pointing the window, and her heart caught in her throat.

It was Megaera, the worst of the winged Furies, perched on the edge of their open window. Hermione's hand went to her mouth, and she realized that she was still holding the ruby necklace.

"Stupid muggle," Megaera whispered, her rotted voice penetrating the corners of the room, and Hermione quickly hid the necklace behind Draco's still body.

"What do you want?" Draco asked angrily, his voice returning. "Run back to your master, you damn monster."

"That's what everyone says," Megaera whispered with fury. "Monster, harpy, disgusting, foul. You and the rest of the world."

Hermione was instantly sorry for the creature, even though she knew that it didn't want her pity.

"Leave us alone," Draco spat.

"Oh no," Megaera laughed maniacally. "You two have become tiresome to my master-"

"Who do you serve?" Hermione interrupted. Draco shoved her back; as if to her protect her. She pushed him away. "Hades or Voldemort?"

Megaera's face twisted horribly, and Hermione could see that she had once been beautiful, but was now twisted and warped by hatred. "Voldemort of course, he shall reign for eternity."

Draco smirked. "Death is eternal, Voldemort is simply a mortal man, and his time will run out."

Megaera grinned. "And you two won't have anything to do with it, because you'll be pushing up the daisies."

Suddenly, her eyes glowed bright blood red, and streaks of fire shot from them. Hermione thrust Draco away.

She held up the biggest ruby on the necklace, and the burning fire caught in the ruby. Megaera's eyes faded from red to black, and snarled with anger.

Draco raised his wand.

"ABICIO!" Draco yelled, and Megaera went flying off into the night sky, howling angrily. Hermione jumped to her feet, and shut and locked the window with a clang.

"This is ironic," Draco said, staring at his wand. "I just used magic to defend my life, and now I'll probably be expelled from school."

"Well, it will be hard to describe a Fury to the court," Hermione said, scratching her head. "After all, they don't really exist."

"Where did you get the necklace?" Draco asked, motioning to the ruby necklace still clutched in Hermione's sweating hand.

Hermione laughed. "Persephone gave it to me, she said that it would save me, and that it was a gift on the altar of peace."

Draco smiled, and stroked her hand. "That's amusing. Natalya gave it away, and then it came back to us."

"To me," she corrected with a laugh.

"But, isn't it our wedding gift?" he asked with a wry smile.

She grinned. "Of course, it is."

He put his arms around he waist, and looked down at her fondly. "We seem to have a penchant of picking up rubies, and they always manage to save us."

She laughed; twirling the ring he had given her. "Rubies are red, the color of everlasting love."

"Everlasting love," he mused, twirling her around. "Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

"Of course, isn't that what we are?" she said amusedly.

"Deeply in love?" he asked, pressing his nose to hers. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his smooth neck. "Who are you kidding? Of course not."

She laughed. "I love you so much I'm willing to put up with your weird jokes and strange eccentricities!"

"Well, I could say the same about you," he said slyly. "But if you kiss me, I won't."

"Sounds like a good bargain to me," she said.

He bowed his head, and their lips met.

Now, there have been many great kisses in history. This one surpassed them all, followed some miles behind by Buttercup and Westley's kiss in the Princess Bride. Not that Hermione or Draco knew or cared about this, they were too engrossed in each other.

* * *

A/N: Hah! Return of a fury! Mwahahahahahha! Oh, and I also explained Hermione's other dream, so if you were confused then, hopefully everything has been cleared up. Leave a review!  



	17. Arnie's Artifacts

Chapter 17

Draco got up and pulled on his favorite shirt with a large quaffle on it, and his lucky jeans. He ambled down the stairs and into the kitchen, where he found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley arguing, and Ron eating his toasties at the table.

They quickly quieted when he entered.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Am I interrupting anything?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled comfortingly. "Of course not, dear." Mr. Weasley handed him a letter.

"This came last night," he said, eyeing the ministry label on the envelope. Draco tore it open and quickly scanned the letter.

"I've been called for an appearance in court," he said. "For illegally using magic."

Mr. Weasley frowned. "Were you using magic?"

"Yes," Draco said, but hastily added seeing the Weasley's dejected faces. "But it was in self-defense."

"Oh," Mr. Weasley said, obviously confused.

Ron snickered. "Did Hermione try to do anything dangerous?"

"Don't be crude Ron," Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Of course she wasn't. Was she?"

Draco grinned. "Of course not. We were attacked by Furies."

"Oh not again," Ron groaned. "I thought that whole dead thing was over, I thought that was done with."

Mrs. Weasley harrumphed. "Well, I suppose we'll have to prepare for the trial. When is it?"

Draco glanced at his letter. "A week before school begins."

"Oh good," Mrs. Weasley said. "It will be easy to get to, especially since we're in London. Now, just tell the truth, and everything will be fine."

Hermione entered, yawning widely, rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on?" she murmured.

Ginny marched in, groaning. "Everyone die."

"Is that a way to greet your family?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

* * *

After breakfast, Draco and Hermione were about to leave, when someone they hadn't seen in a while appeared in the doorway.

"Hello Draco, Hermione," Professor Dumbledore said, smiling magnanimously. "How was the rest of your trip to France?"

"Hello Professor," Draco said genially. "How are you?"

"Perfectly fine, thank you," Dumbledore said, although he seemed more tired and exhausted than they had ever seen him.

Hermione grinned. "We ended up cutting our trip short, we were just tired of the constant drama, and it would have been uncomfortable if we had run into our accuser again."

"I see," Dumbledore said, a twinkle appearing in his eye. "Forgive me, but I must go and speak with Molly and Arthur. Good day to you both."

Hermione and Draco exited, off to their room to grab their baseball caps and sunscreen.

* * *

"There are a few places around London I want to take you," Hermione said, jamming her pink cap on her head, and grabbing her favorite purse. "My brother, when we were on good terms, would take me, a girl-friend, a friend of mine, to London. We had some regular places, and maybe some of the shopkeepers will recognize me."

"What if someone from school sees us together?" Draco asked, putting on his dark sunglasses, and then his lucky blue cap.

"This is the middle of muggle London, I doubt we'll run into anyone," she said, drawing something out of her purse. "And if we do, they won't recognize us." She put on her sunglasses, took his arm.

"Where are we going?"

"Arnie's Interesting Artifacts," she replied, and they Disapparated.

* * *

A young couple appeared in the back corner of a rather eccentric shop. He instantly reached for a small glass pyramid.

"What's this?" he asked.

"That's a glass replica of the Pyramid of Giza," Hermione explained. "Watch that you don't drop that." He put it back down carefully, and immediately scooped up something else.

"What's this?" he begged, dangling it in front of her.

She grinned. "That's a rubber chicken, darling."

"How much is it?" he asked, poking the rubber chicken with a hesitant finger, a delighted expression on his face.

"Only a couple dollars," she said. "Do you want it?"

He nodded. "What's a dollar?"

"Don't ask that question in public," she instructed. "I'll tell you later. Let's keep looking around."

"Excuse me," someone asked politely. Hermione looked up from the small dinosaur pen she had found. Arnie was standing there, a polite expression on his wizened old face. "Can I help you?"

Hermione put up her shades, and his face lit up.

"Hermione," he exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Fine," she said. "And you?"

"Not bad," he laughed. "I didn't hear you and your fiancée come in, you should have been more loud…"

"Oh, he's not my fiancée," she said, waving at Draco.

He flushed. "Sorry, I saw the ring, and I assumed." Hermione looked down at her right hand and saw the ruby ring on her ring finger.

"I'm sorry," she said. "We're not engaged, yet."

He smiled. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. Come back anytime, little one. It's good to see you, for old time's sake."

After buying the rubber chicken for Draco, they stepped out onto the street again, putting down their shades.

"Well," Draco said, dangling his rubber chicken happily. "Where to next?"

"Let's go to lunch at Azariah's Fish and Chips, it's just down the street from here," Hermione said, taking him by the arm. "They have great fish, and their chips are the best in town."

Hermione finished ordering, and went and sat down at a plastic table, across from Draco, who was still playing with his rubber chicken.

"You really like that, don't you?" she laughed.

"Muggle kids have such cool toys," he said enviously. "My first toy was a jack-in-the-box with a skull instead of a clown."

"I'm so sorry," she said gently. "You don't seem to scarred."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I still wish I'd been a normal kid, with a normal family, with siblings."

"Well, it turns out you have a half-brother," Hermione said gently, poking the chicken.

"And he happens to be an ugly twit," he said, laughing. "A complete dork, who landed us in trouble. I bet Blaise hates us now, because of that."

She grinned widely. "No he doesn't-"

"Hermione?" someone said loudly. "Is that you?"

Hermione turned around to find herself face to face with her older brother, Gaelen.

* * *

A/N: Hahahahhaha! Return of the imaginary older brother! Yay! Okay, everyone leave a review, and then go see Star Wars. 

It's good, trust me on this one.


	18. Of Rubber Chickens and Privet Drive

Chapter 18

"Gaelen?" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Gaelen flushed. "I was showing Cho some of the places we used to go. I can see you're doing the same thing with Draco."

"Yeah," Draco said brightly. "Hermione got me this really neat rubber chicken!"

Gaelen laughed, and Hermione was surprised by how handsome he was when he wasn't upset. "I used to have one of those, from Arnie's, right?"

"Yes," Hermione said stiffly. "So, how are you?"

"Not bad," Gaelen replied, eating a chip.

"And you, Cho?" Hermione asked.

Cho smiled warily, as if she wasn't sure if Hermione was mocking her, or simply being polite. "I'm fine."

"That's good," Draco said. "We are too."

"Do you guys want to go with us to see a movie?" Gaelen asked suddenly, his eyes fixed on Hermione's, as if he wanted to make something up to her.

"What's a movie?" Draco asked, still cheerful beyond all belief. Gaelen gave him a funny look.

"You know, a moving picture," Gaelen elaborated.

"No, I don't know," Draco replied, still clueless. Cho drew him aside, and began explaining.

"Hermione," Gaelen said, seeing that Draco and Cho were both distracted. "I wanted to say sorry."

"For what?" she asked.

"Well, you know," he said, seeming uncomfortable. "I pretty much ruined our relationship. You were a great little sister, and I screwed it up."

"It was my fault too," she said.

"No," he replied. "It wasn't. I realize now, that I was probably jealous that you got accepted to your school, and you were a witch, and I had no talents whatsoever in that area."

"Oh," Hermione said. "I'm sorry, I didn't help you at all."

"I didn't want help," he explained. "I was bitter. And I ruined a perfectly good sister-brother friendship. I'm sorry."

"Me too," she said. "Oh well, we'll just have to make it up in other ways."

"So, what do you say to that movie?"

"Well, Draco and I were planning on doing some shopping, so not today. But some other time, I promise," she said, genuinely regretting their previous plans. "I promise."

* * *

"Your brother isn't half bad," Draco said to Hermione as they were leaving Azariah's Fish and Chips after they had all finished eating. "He's not as noxious."

"He's changed, and I can't help but wonder why he's changed," Hermione said with a grin. "I mean, it's rare that you find total idiots change into nice guys."

"Hey," Draco said, in mock injury, "We're not that rare."

"Oh yes you are," Hermione giggled. "It took me forever to fix you! You were a total mess-"

"And now I'm a total prince," he replied. "Prince Charming."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yeah right, Prince poop more like."

"Hey!"

"What?" she asked innocently. "I didn't say anything…"

He snorted, and pushed her gently. "Where are we going shopping?"

Hermione grinned. "We're going shopping in a small town called Little Whinging."

* * *

Privet Drive was a no-nonsense sort of street, with dark asphalt that steamed in the early July heat, and square shrubs that lined parkways. The wooden fences built up around each identical house were straight and narrow, much like the people who dwelt within them.

Mr and Mrs Dursley of Number 4 Privet Drive were very much like fences. They did not put up with any wishy-washy behavior, thank you very much, and had no tolerance for anyone who did not agree with their narrow-minded, fence-like views.

They had few secrets, for the neighbors were the spying type, but they had one enormous secret that seemed to hang over their ordinary lives like a rabid dog.

And every summer, this horrid secret came to stay with them, occupying the upper bedroom, living and breathing a mystery that they hated and despised with their whole beings.

For their nephew, a certain Harry Potter, was a wizard, and a very good one at that, who had friends, and a life outside of Little Whinging. But Mr and Mrs Dursley felt it was their duty to assure that no one, I repeat no one, knew of this.

However, they had no idea that their little lies and secrets would be horribly upset one steamy early July afternoon.

* * *

Hermione knocked on the door of a very boring house on the most normal Muggle street in England, and Draco fidgeted at her side.

"What on earth are you worrying about?" she asked.

Draco looked worried. "Besides your family, I've never met honest to goodness Muggles. What if they really are as horrible as Harry says they are?"

"Well," she said tiredly. "They might make us leave."

"They can't do that," Draco scoffed. "I'm Draco Malfoy for lord's sake, they can't kick out a Malfoy-"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "They can, Draco. You're already in trouble with the Ministry, I don't think cursing Mr Dursley will further your situation any."

Suddenly, the door swung open, and standing before them was the largest human being Hermione had ever seen.

Dudley Dursley was no longer fat, he had lost his blubber to wrestling, an ugly sport that only stupid boys do. It was Hermione's opinion that all wrestlers were compensating for something, and Dudley's ridiculous outfit sealed her opinion.

Mr Dursley had installed a mat in Dudley's room, so he could practice with his friends during the summer. Dudley was currently wearing his tight wrestling suit, and though his physique was something to be admired, his… endowments, were not.

"What do you want?" Dudley grunted, reminding Draco strongly of a pig. "I've got better things to do than stand here."

"We'd like to see Mr Harry Potter," Hermione said coldly, straightening up with driven purpose. "We're from the London College Board."

Dudley looked her up and down with undisguised confusion. "Why aren't you wearing a suit?"

"Because it's a weekend, and I would rather not," she replied angrily. "Can you please get your brother for me?"

"He's not my brother," Dudley said sullenly. "I'll get him."

Dudley stalked away, his bum cheeks swaying, and Hermione almost burst out laughing.

"What an idiot," Draco muttered to her. "He actually believed that shit? That was so coming out of your ass, Hermione, a dead monkey could have seen that you were joking."

"Well-" she started, but someone was standing in the doorway.

"Hermione?" Harry gasped.

* * *

A/N: Yay for nice Gaelen! See, only imaginary older brothers do this sort of thing... Sigh. Anyhoo, leave a review! 

TTFN


	19. Visiting Harry

Chapter 19

"Harry!" Hermione squealed, throwing her arms around him tightly. "I knew you would be lonely, so I decided to drag Draco here and see if we could surprise you!"

"Surprise is an understatement," Harry laughed, running a hand through his messy hair after he had let go of Hermione. "Ron's been writing frequently, but you two practically disappeared off the radar. What happened?"

Draco cast Hermione an amused look.

"It's a long story," he said. "But we'll tell you if you're willing to listen."

* * *

"Wow," Harry said after Draco had finished relating the recent events. "And how is he related to you?"

Draco gulped. "We think he's my half-brother."

"And he got you arrested?" Harry asked dubiously.

They both nodded miserably.

"He got us arrested because he thought I was in league with Death Eaters," Draco emphasized nervously. "What'll happen when he finds out that we share a dad?"

"Don't worry about it for now," Hermione said, stroking his back. 'We have to kill Voldemort before we even think of doing anything about Luc. We have to prioritize, you know."

Draco looked skeptical. "You know, Luc is just as bad as Voldemort-"

"Shut up," Hermione laughed, shoving him. "You are so stupid. You're just jealous that I've known Luc longer than you."

"Hey," Harry said suddenly. "Isn't Luc the boy you dated after fifth year, over the summer?"

Hermione groaned, while Draco looked stricken.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said, quite upset. "Didn't you trust me not to kill him?"

"Thanks Harry," Hermione snapped. "No, Draco. I knew you'd get like this, all upset and jealous and shit. Don't be. Luc and I have been over for like a year now."

Draco still seemed upset. "But I don't understand-"

"I said the wrong thing," Harry said guiltily. "Sorry Hermione. It just kinda slipped out."

Hermione sighed. "Well, now that we're all caught up, Draco and I ought to go before your aunt and uncle get back. Where are they anyway?"

"Who knows," Harry said, suddenly dejected. "When did Dumbledore say I could come to Headquarters?"

"Your birthday," Draco replied automatically.

"Which reminds me," Hermione continued. "Headquarters is in a different place, since Voldemort found Grimmauld Place."

Harry nodded, tired. "Yeah, I figured it would be moved. I bet Sirius is happy about it."

"If it helps you any, Harry," Draco said quickly. "Sirius misses you dreadfully."

Harry smiled painfully. "I miss him too, and somehow, it feels so weird to think that he's back. He's been gone for a year, and I guess I got used to that empty spot at the back of my heart."

"I know," Hermione said, rubbing his back. "We all missed him too."

* * *

Hermione and Draco Apparated onto the doorstep of number 56 Knockturn Alley.

"Don't tell anyone we went to see Harry," she said strictly. "Because Dumbledore will doubtless not approve of it, I wouldn't blame him. Someone could have followed us, even though I did banish all traces of our presence."

"I see," Draco said briefly. "What if Harry tells Ron, and Ron gets mad at us for not telling him?"

"Harry won't tell," Hermione said assuredly. "He understands, and he knows that Ron would kill us for not bringing him along. Besides, Harry and Ron aren't getting along as well as they should."

"What's wrong?"

Hermione paused uncertainly. "Since you're friends with both of them, I'll tell you. Harry wants to see other people, but Ron's still obsessed with Harry. I'm not sure how it will work out without one of them hating the other."

"That's strange," Draco said. "They were so close last year."

"I know," Hermione said, her throat constricting painfully. "I have no idea what they're going to do."

"Harry doesn't seem like the type to waffle in his affections," Draco said suddenly. "I mean, he was obsessed with Cho Chang for most of fourth and fifth year."

"Yeah," Hermione said, opening the door. "I think he's bi-sexual, and he's confused. He thinks he should only like one gender, but then he has feelings for girls, and then for Ron. He needs time to sort out if Ron is the right person for him, or if there is someone else out there for him."

"Hey," someone called from the other side of the hall. They turned around to see Ginny poking her head out from behind a column. "Are you guys talking about Harry?"

"Yes," Hermione replied hesitantly. "Were you listening to us?"

Ginny nodded emphatically. "Yeah, I was. I want to talk to you guys about Ron."

* * *

Hermione sat down on the bed, and Ginny closed their bedroom door behind her. Draco took a chair by the desk, and Ginny sat down on the table.

"Okay, what's up with Ron?" she asked them. Draco cast Hermione a worried look, but Hermione ignored him, and launched into the story she had told Draco not minutes before.

"So, Harry doesn't like him like that anymore?" Ginny said slowly. "And he told Ron this?"

"Yup," Hermione replied. "That's what Ron told me."

"Weird," Ginny said. "Ron's been going out with this guy from Durmstrang for a month or so."

"What!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "That's not what he told me."

Draco frowned. "What the hell is going on here? I mean, it sounds like they're both seeing other people, and lying about it to each other."

"Yeah," Ginny said abruptly. "That would make sense, because last time I wrote Harry, he wrote back all distracted and stuff, like he wasn't really paying attention. Whoever it is, I bet they're hot."

"Harry would have told me," Hermione said, the hurt evident in her voice. "I trust him with everything, and I couldn't believe that he would do something like that to Ron, or to me."

* * *

A/N: Today is my birthday! At five o'clock this morning, I turned fifteen! Yay! Sorry I haven't updated in like a week, but I've been super busy... 


	20. A Letter from Harry

Chapter 20

That night, Hermione draped the ruby necklace over her fingers gently, the rubies sparkling in the moonlight. Since the incident with the Fury, Draco locked the window each night, and Hermione had put a circulation spell on the room so it remained cool.

"Go to bed, Hermione," Draco said from the desk, where he was sorting through Marissa's letters. "I think we should do some research on finding Marissa tomorrow. I want to know where she went after selling this house to Dumbledore."

"Sounds good to me," Hermione replied sleepily, placing the necklace in her drawer. "Marissa sounds very interesting, I'd love to meet her."

Suddenly a knocking noise came at the window. They looked up to see a snow-white owl pecking the window, an envelope clenched in her talons.

Draco opened the window slowly, and shut it behind Hedwig. She dropped the letter in Hermione's hand, and proceeded to drink from the little dish they kept at the window for owls. When she was finished, Draco let her out, and she flapped off into the night.

The letter was addressed to Hermione in Harry's familiar scrawling writing. She opened slowly, and pulled out a letter covered in messy, green, smeared ink.

_Dear Hermione,_ the letter read.

_I feel honor bound to tell you what has conspired between Ron and I. Ron and I are no longer compatible as a couple, and I felt the need to break of relations such. _

_He remains a friend, but we are no longer dating. When I told Ron, he seemed fine, but I know not if this is truly the current situation._

_I am currently dating a girl in the neighborhood, and I have chosen not to tell Ron. I apologize for not informing you of what had happened, but I did not want you to point fingers._

_I was sure if you did that your finger would fall upon me, but I know now that you would not falsely accuse me of anything. It seems that fate has transpired against me once again, but do not think that I am not still your friend._

_Fondly, Harry_

Hermione silently handed the letter to Draco, who skimmed it quickly, and gave it back. She put the letter back in the envelope and let if fall from her limp hand to the bed.

"He sounds like he thought about it a lot," Hermione said quietly. "This is so confusing. I mean, Ron and Harry weren't like, destined to be together forever, but I always though that they'd at least part on good terms."

"They seem like they're on good terms," Draco pointed out.

"Emphasis on 'seems'; they won't be when Ron finds out that Harry's dating someone else."

Draco glanced at the letter. "This is awkward, but there is really nothing we can do about it. We can't choose sides, because then you'll end up without either Ron or Harry as a friend."

* * *

The next morning, Draco and Hermione rose early.

"So, where are we going?" Hermione asked, sliding Harry's letter into her purse. Draco chose not to notice this, and buttered her slice of toast.

"We're going to see my aunt Andromeda, and see if she can direct us towards Marissa," Draco said, handing her the buttery toast. "Jam?"

"What?" she asked, still thinking about Harry and Ron.

"Jam, on your toast?" he asked, waving the jam jar in front of her nose. She laughed suddenly, and nodded, still completely out of it.

* * *

When Andromeda Black had married Ted Tonks, she had been completely aware of the repercussions of marrying a muggle-born boy. Now that she was old, and had a child of her own, she knew that it was as much out of spite as out of love.

She was in her forties, had a grown child, and hadn't talked to a pureblood in a good twenty years. At times, she regretted it. After losing her sisters, it was hard gaining another family that thought she was an accountant.

Ted and she had come to an agreement upon marriage. Beyond Ted's immediate family, his muggle relatives would not know her real occupation. It was hard, especially in the years following Nymphadora's birth.

Nymphadora had shown signs of magic early on. Aunt Izzy had gotten a rather nasty shock when Nymphadora had changed her head into a turnip and then to a rather large cast iron pot. Poor Aunt Izzy had dropped the baby in the crib, and ran screaming into the kitchen. The magic-reversal squad had to be called in.

Yes, Andromeda Tonks had had an interesting and productive life. Not the happiest life, for she had lost much over the years. The most scarring and painful was the jailing of her cousin, Sirius. She was sure he was innocent, but he had disappeared into the world, and she knew he was dead to her.

The return of Voldemort had also taken its' toll on her. Her once jet-black hair now had streaks of grey in it, and faint creases lined her still shocking blue eyes. Ted often said that her eyes were the only young part of her remaining.

She had long given up hope of being reunited with her sisters, one was as good as dead, and the other had forked over her life for the sake of purity of blood.

And Andromeda never expected that her sister Narcissa's only son and only hope would appear on her rather muggle doorstep one breezy mid-July morning.

* * *

Draco knocked the knocker on the small muggle house, hoping half-heartedly that his aunt didn't recognize him. If she did, it would be hard to talk with her.

The door swung open slowly, and standing before them was a middle age woman with dark hair and pale blue eyes.

Draco recognized her immediately; it was a carbon copy of how his Aunt Bellatrix would have looked. Her dark hair had a couple streaks of pepper, but her eyes were that of the Black family, his mother's eyes. But these were not cold and heartless; these were the eyes of a woman who had seen a life of happiness and beauty.

"Lucius?" the woman asked, recoiling instantly.

"No," Draco said, swallowing the pain that accompanied the mention of his father. "I'm Draco, your nephew."

* * *

A/N: Officially fifteen years old. Scary, huh? Okay, I'll let you all alone. Leave a review! 


	21. Andromeda Tonks and Marissa Malfoy

Chapter 21

"Draco?" Andromeda whispered, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and confusion. "What on earth-"

Draco held up his hand. "I can explain myself. I have broken ties with my family, and I no longer associate with them."

Andromeda looked almost stricken, and then hesitantly, she looked around.

"Would you like to come in?" she ventured finally, as if assuring that no one was seeing her do this.

"Yes," Draco said. "I want to talk to you about a family member."

* * *

Andromeda had them sit at a small coffee table in the tiny but comfortable sitting room. She brought in a tea tray, and served them with nervous shaking hands.

"Now," she started, folding her long hands in her lap, as if she was afraid they would get loose. "Why are you here?"

Draco took a sip of his tea, as if he wanted to avoid the subject.

"I was hoping you knew something about Marissa Malfoy," he said finally, setting down his tea-cup.

"Marissa?" Andromeda said, seeming slightly surprised. "Let's see. Marissa was a second cousin on your grandfather's side, and a third cousin in your grandmother's family."

"Double cousins?" Hermione exclaimed. "Is that possible?"

Andromeda shrugged. "Pure-blood families are interwoven like a blanket, we are all related. Marissa was one of Talfryn Malfoy's children. Her brother, Mihangel, was very sweet. Bellatrix was to be married to him, but he died. Marissa married a Lestrange, I believe it was Ronan, a cousin of Rodolphus and Rastaban."

"She was married?" Draco asked, leaning forward. "Did they have any children?"

"Yes," she replied firmly. "Twins. Arianrhod and Asenath, a girl and boy. They're about your age now."

"Do you know where Marissa is now?" Draco asked intensely, leaning forward, his eyes locked on his aunt's.

Andromeda looked away. "Yes, I do."

"Where is she?" Draco asked. "I need to know."

She shook her head. "I can't tell you, she would kill me. She has been trying to escape your family her entire life, she would not want to see you."

"I do not represent my family," Draco said, anger edging into his voice. "I need to know more about Natalya Malfoy."

Andromeda nearly dropped her tea-cup.

"What did you say?" Andromeda asked.

"I need to know about Natalya Malfoy," Draco repeated almost tersely. "It's vital, terribly important."

Andromeda shakily put her cup down, and looked at Draco icily. "I have not heard that name since I was young." She set her mouth disapprovingly. "Do not wave that name like a banner, young man. Those who are dead should keep their secrets, and Natalya Malfoy's secrets should not be disturbed. Whatever her portrait has told you, you should keep to yourself."

"Please," Draco said desperately. "I need to know more about her."

Andromeda closed her eyes, and then opened them again slowly. "If you are searching for your siblings, do not. They do not exist."

"Siblings?" Hermione repeated. "We've only found one."

Andromeda shuddered. "I shall direct you to Marissa, but beware the consequences of unearthing things long dead. The Malfoy family has made a very good effort of burying all traces of those children, they should remain buried."

"They have a right to know," Draco argued. Andromeda smiled, sending a shiver down Hermione's spine.

"We know about our families," she said. "And, don't we both wished we didn't?"

* * *

Hermione and Draco stood on the quiet muggle street staring at the piece of paper Andromeda Tonks had given them.

"Number 21 Zenith Drive, Ipswich," Hermione read aloud. "Well, let's go. It's only one o'clock, we've got plenty of time."

With that, they vanished into thin air with a crack.

A little old lady crossing the street at that moment nearly gave herself a heart attack seeing to seemingly nice young teenagers vanish. Presently she decided that it had been her imagination, and that her medicine must be wearing off.

* * *

Hermione and Draco appeared on the doorstep of a pretty cottage on the outskirts of Ipswich.

The house was that of someone who has plenty of time to fix up their garden and work on the house itself. At one point it had been a real dive, but the family who had bought the house dedicated a good five years to it's recovery.

Draco rang the doorbell. The door swung open, and a teenage boy with very dark hair stood staring at them. Hermione once again found herself staring into the very pale grey eyes of a Malfoy.

"Hello," he said. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Marissa um…" Draco said, desperately trying to remember her married name. "Malfoy?"

"Sorry, no Malfoy's here," the boy said. "But my mum's named Marissa, perhaps you're looking for her?"

"Yeah," Hermione said. "We just want to talk to her a minute."

"I'll get her," the boy said, and vanished into the house.

Moments later a very pale blond woman appeared.

"Hello," she began, but her words died on her lips as her eyes roamed across Draco's face.

"Hello Aunt Marissa," Draco said tentatively.

"Good lord, get out of here," she said angrily, moving quickly to slam the door shut.

"No wait," Draco said, putting his foot in the threshold. "I can explain myself."

"Who gave you my address?" Marissa snapped. "Who?"

"Andromeda Tonks," Hermione said soothingly.

"Well, Lucius," she snapped furiously.

"I'm not Lucius," Draco interrupted quickly.

She paused. "Oh, dear me. I'm dreadfully sorry, I suppose I was just getting carried away. You are too young, but you do look awfully like him."

"Awfully is right," Draco quipped nervously. Marissa broke a smile, and traces of her old beauty came back.

"I'm so sorry about the whole door thing," she said weakly, opening it wide. "I got carried away. Before I let you in, though, who are you?"

"I'm Draco," he said. "But I've cut ties with my family. I'm here because I would like to ask you a few questions about my half-siblings, and Natalya Malfoy."

Marissa looked shocked for a second, but after a long pause of awkward silence, she motioned for them to come inside.

"Forgive me," she said quietly. "But I do not think you should be worrying about this. Let the dead keep their secrets."

* * *

A/N: Hiya. Leave a review. Please. 


	22. Marissa\'s Story

Chapter 22

Draco was shaking now. He clenched his hands tightly in his lap.

"No, you don't understand," he whispered. "I've met Natalya."

Marissa closed her eyes, as if in fear of what she was hearing. "I was afraid this would happen, Draco. You should not contact her; she is dead. Avenging her will not solve anyone's problems."

"You're not listening," Draco raged. "My father killed me. This is not avenging anyone; this is personal. I want to kill him!"

Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder, frightened by his outburst. "Draco, calm down!"

He seemed to begin to breath again. "Sorry," he apologized, still furious. "This is ridiculous."

Marissa nodded. "I understand, Draco. But using Natalya's anger to fuel your own fight for freedom just will not work."

"It's not just that I want revenge," Draco said. "I just want to know more about her, why she fell in love with my father, and how she let it get so out of hand."

Marissa cradled her forehead in the crook of her hand, and finally looked up. "I will tell you," she began. "But I warn you, it is not a pretty story. Natalya was delusional about the situation for so long, I'm sure she went to the grave believing she was right."

* * *

Marissa began her story.

"The problems began long after Natalya and Lucius had begun their illicit love affair.

"Lucius was ordered to marry by the Malfoy family elders, because he was the one remaining youthful heir to the infamous fortune. Natalya, of course, insisted that the family would let them marry and inherit together. However, though the family has a history of blunders and mistakes, they knew that if the two were allowed to have children, the precious Malfoy genes would be forever destroyed.

"The elders told them no. Lucius had to marry outside the Malfoy Empire. They chose a wife for him. They chose a certain Narcissa Black, of a once prosperous family, who at the time were down on their luck. This move brought the Blacks back to power, and realigned the two families through marriage.

"Natalya was furious, naturally. She insisted that Lucius put aside Narcissa and accept her as his lawfully wed wife. At the time, she was only seventeen, and her wishes were dismissed as the dreams of a child. And in a way, they were only dreams.

"I'm sure Natalya failed to tell you that she attempted to kill Narcissa many times, being foiled each time by their grandmother. As her best friend, I will admit, I was in on many of the plots. We were young and foolish; we only saw Natalya's happiness.

"Of course, gradually Natalya realized that Lucius would not put aside Narcissa. So, she allowed herself to get pregnant. She gave birth to twins on her eighteenth birthday, and three months later you were born. She saw the twins as an assurance of Lucius' love and affection. She was wrong. You were established as the legitimate heir, and as soon as the elders had doubly insured you as the only, and undeniable heir to your father's wealth, she cast the children away, as they were no longer any use.

"When Lucius once again turned her away, she went to my brother, Mihangel. Mihangel was her age, and she took up with him in the hopes that it would get Lucius jealous. Lucius got jealous, and took it out on my brother. When Mihangel died, Natalya killed herself.

"I suppose she loved them both, in her sadistic way. Her children have been raised without any knowledge of her, or their father. It is better that way, for the dead sleep, and their rest is sacred. That is why I cannot tell you the location of your half-sister." She folded her hands in her lap, as if the story had exhausted her.

"But, she said Rodolphus Lestrange killed her," Draco protested.

Marissa rolled her eyes. "She would never admit to killing herself, too messy. Natalya wanted to incriminate everyone for separating her and Lucius, and she would blame whoever happened to be on the tip of her tongue."

"And, she never said anything about twins," Draco continued. "I only found out that I had a half-sister from Andromeda. Why didn't she tell me?"

"The girl is…" Marissa paused. "Muggles would say she is insane, but she is not. She is simply…. different. She has powers that most… would deem unnatural."

"What can she do?" Hermione asked, leaning forward.

Marissa was silent for a moment. "She can commune with the dead, and not through pictures, like most of us do. She sees the future as clearly as I see you now. She can move things, without using magic. She is truly strange."

"Does she ever speak of the underworld?" Hermione asked.

Marissa cast her a strange look. "Yes, she does. She often talks about the King and Queen of the Dead."

"A Necromancer," Hermione said with a grin.

"These powers have separated her from our world," Marissa said quietly. "She lives within her dreams, but luckily, her adoptive father is understanding, and treats her normally."

"Please," Draco entreated. "Tell us where we can find her."

Marissa seemed as if she wanted to say, but could not. "You have already found Luc, do not torture Pandora."

"Pandora," Hermione whispered. "Will she open the box?"

"You know the origins of her name?" Marissa said gently, giving Hermione a kind smile. "Ah, I could never say Natalya was wise, but she gave Pandora a fitting name. She can open the box of underworld, and unleash hell."

"I do not mean to push," Draco said gently. "But she is my sister. I want to meet her. I won't mention anything about my family."

Marissa seemed reluctant. "I'm telling you against my better wishes, but…"

"But what?" Draco pressed.

"Promise you won't tell who told you," she said, "Pandora's father is a good man, but he has done his best to shield her from the world's monstrosities."

"Yes, I promise," Draco said respectfully.

"Pandora lives at Number 56 Knockturn Alley," Marissa replied quietly, as if she was afraid someone was listening.

"Number 56!" Hermione repeated, completely shocked. "That can't be! Draco and I live there."

"Her guardian is Albus Dumbledore," Marissa said with a slight shrug. "When Professor Dumbledore is involved, anything can happen."

* * *

A/N: Enter intrigue... Well, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, but my computer refused to upload the documents after the renovation... sorry. I've figured out what's wrong, and production continues!  



	23. Pandora

Chapter 23

Hermione and Draco left Marissa's house, taciturn and moody.

"I can't believe she's been under our noses this entire time!" Draco burst out suddenly. "My own sister, and I had no idea!"

"Draco, let's look for her as soon as we get home," Hermione said suddenly. "I wonder if she's anything like Luc."

"Let's hope not," Draco replied nastily. "Luc was a real git."

"Don't be so rude," she said haughtily. "You were just jealous."

"Was not," Draco answered irritably. With a loud crack, the two vanished into thin air.

* * *

Hermione and Draco entered Number 56 Knockturn Alley with trepidation, as if they weren't sure what would pop out from behind a corner.

"Where do you think Dumbledore would hide her?" Hermione asked aloud, as they took off their shoes in the mudroom.

"Where do you think Dumbledore would hide what?" an amused voice came from behind them. They whirled around to find their headmaster watching them, a twinkle in his eye, and the edges of his lips twitching up.

"Nothing professor," Draco stammered suddenly. "Nothing whatsoever."

"My dear Hermione," Dumbledore said suddenly. "Has anyone ever told you that you blush furiously when someone in your vicinity lies abominably?"

"No," Hermione answered, flushing furiously. "Thank you for letting me know."

"Now," Dumbledore said with a smile, turning to Draco. "Would you care to answer my question? You don't have to of course, but I would love to know if you are speaking about me."

"It's not about you professor," Draco said nervously.

"It's about his sister," Hermione said abruptly. Draco cast her a withering look, but she ignored his apparent fury.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "You have been talking with Marissa, eh?" When neither of them answered, he continued. "Well, it's perfectly fine for you to want to know about your siblings, Draco. I believe you met your brother already."

"Yes," Draco said, his eyes darkening as he remembered his brief stint in a foreign jail. "I have."

Dumbledore sighed, as if he had been expecting this for some time, and then motioned for them to follow him.

Hermione gave Draco a worried look, but they followed him up the grand staircase, and into the Southern Wing of the house.

"Watch this," Dumbledore said with a certain degree of satisfaction and glee as he stood before an ancient portrait of an old man dressed in black robes. He addressed the portrait. "Ieuan, you can wake up."

The portrait awoke; it had been snoring lightly.

"What? What?" he said pompously. He looked down on them from over his monocle. "Oh, it's you Dumbledore. I suppose you want an entrance. What about those whippersnappers behind you eh?"

"This is Hermione Granger, and Draco Malfoy," Dumbledore introduced them. "They've come to see Pan with me."

"Malfoy, eh?" the portrait said, looking at Draco with intense interest. "One of my relatives, I assume."

"Very," Draco muttered.

"What branch?" the portrait asked loudly. "And speak up, I'm rather hard of hearing!"

"My grandfather was Asenath Malfoy," Draco replied bitterly.

"Eh," the portrait said disdainfully. "My cousin. I am the great Tarlach Malfoy, and all the decent Malfoys are descended from me."

"My father will beg to differ," Draco replied with a roll of his eyes. "Professor, can we move on? I have no desire to discuss my family lineage, currently."

"Of course," Dumbledore replied graciously. "Do let us in Tarlach, we have much to discuss."

"Indeed," Tarlach replied, giving Draco a frosty look, and then the portrait swung open, revealing a door.

Dumbledore led them into a large apartment; that included a kitchen and dining table, as well as a living room.

"Pandora?" he called. No one answered.

Suddenly, the heard the rustling of silk appeared at the bedroom door. Hermione turned around, and standing in the doorway was possibly the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. She had though that Ninian was angelic, but Pandora was like a goddess.

She was wearing an old-fashioned silk red dress, the plunging neckline making Draco blush.

"Hello," she said nervously. "Who are you?"

"Pandora," Dumbledore said with a fatherly smile. "These two are my good friends, and students at school. I wanted you to meet them." He glanced at Draco, warning him to speak nothing of his relation to her.

She glided over, and held out a hand.

Hermione shook it, and was instantly shocked by something she couldn't place. Pandora's eyes met hers, and something clicked. Hermione realized that she was holding the hand of a fellow protégé of Queen Persephone.

"Hello, Hermione," Pandora said quietly. "Goddess bless."

She turned to Draco, and shook his hand. "Hello, Draco. We meet again."

"What do you mean?" Draco stammered. "I'm sorry, I've never met you before."

She laughed, a magical sound that seemed to bubble up from within her like a fountain. "I met you in the Underworld, brother."

"Brother?" Draco repeated, "I'm not your brother."

She smiled. "Half-children we are. We cannot identify with the real world, nor can we be with our families. A hated fate, but one we must carry. Luc is the only one of us three who is insane, but he is the most normal. Isn't that ironic?"  
"Pandora," Dumbledore said, worry entering his voice. "How do you know all this? I didn't tell you any of this."

"The goddess did," Pandora replied calmly. "The goddess and the god know all."

"I can see you've been dressing up again," Dumbledore said, patting her head affectionately. "Go back to sleep, I'm afraid that our guests have exhausted you."

Pandora wordlessly disappeared into her bedroom, the door shutting silently behind her.

"What's wrong with her?" Draco asked.

Dumbledore smiled. "Nothing. She is perfectly sane. Luc, whom you've met, has several mental problems. His parents have several spells that make him better, you can hardly tell."

"She's just so, out of it," Draco said helplessly. "I feel guilty."

"You shouldn't," Dumbledore said gently. "It is not your fault. It is partially mine. I have sheltered her from everything, to protect her from her parent's past, and I suppose, everything that would make her grow up."

"Can she use magic?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "I have taught her everything I know, and several of the teachers help me by tutoring her occasionally. She is a brilliant witch."

"Is she going to go to school with us, one day?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore said, cheering up instantaneously. "She is going to be joining you next year. She'll be sorted with the first years in September."

"I hope she's in Gryffindor," Hermione said. "I need some female friends."

"I wonder if blood will win out," Draco mused aloud. "After all, all Malfoys end up in Slytherin. It's in the genes."

* * *

A/N: Enter the sister! Yay for Pandora! Expect her to make another miraculous appearance. Please review! 


	24. Bacon and Peanut Butter

Chapter 24

Dumbledore, Hermione, and Draco all sat around the kitchen table, eating bacon and peanut butter sandwiches. Hermione had to admit that it was rather strange watching the normally very neat and collected Professor chomping down on a sandwich that was most certainly not good for his cholesterol.

After Hermione had finished swallowing her first bite, she asked Dumbledore a question that had been troubling her for the last half-hour.

"When Natalya Malfoy told us about her relationship with Lucius Malfoy, she mentioned Luc, but said nothing about Pandora. Why?"

Dumbledore put down his sandwich and folded his hands. His blue eyes studied her closely.

"I gather you both know much about Natalya. You probably don't know that she was probably mentally inadequate. I remember teaching her. She was very spontaneous, full of laughter, and also a bit eccentric. A result of centuries of in-breeding and narrow minded prejudices," he said tiredly. "Unfortunately, your brother is the result of your family's folly."

"What should I do?" Draco asked finally. "I really don't want to have anything to do with Luc, but he is my brother, after all."

"Well, let's not worry about it for now. Next week is Harry's birthday," Dumbledore said. "And I'm going to have Pandora start staying with you normally, so she can get used to having people around her. I suppose you two have opened my eyes to the fact that she needs a normal life."

Dumbledore went off to discuss details with Mrs. Weasley, leaving Draco and Hermione to talk.

"Well," Hermione said finally. "We've met your sister. What do we do now?"

"I don't know," Draco replied, taking a big swig of his milk. The peanut butter seemed to cling to the back of his throat, making it hard to talk. Even after trying to wash it away with milk, the lump in his throat remained.

"Well," Hermione said cautiously. "Let's go talk to Ron, and see how he's doing. Maybe he'll enlighten us on what's going on between him and that guy from Durmstrang."

* * *

Ron was lying on his bed writing when Hermione and Draco knocked on the door.

"Come in!" he yelled, and they entered cautiously. As soon as he saw them, he jumped up, casting his letter onto his desk carelessly.

"Hey," he said. "What's up? I haven't seen you guys in forever."

"That sounds so odd," Hermione laughed, taking a seat in one of the chairs at his table. "We're staying in the same house, and we scarcely see each other."

"I know," Ron said with a slow smile. "It's awkward. How are you two doing?"  
"Busy," Draco replied cryptically. "Chasing after dead people."

Ron grinned. "You two seem to do that a lot, don't you?"  
"Yeah," Hermione said with a grin. "We do."

"How are you, Ron?" Draco asked. "We've been worrying about you. Harry wrote saying that the two of you had broken up."

Ron seemed a little disconcerted by this, but then waved it off carelessly. "Yeah, we've been over for a while now."

"Are you seeing anyone new?" Hermione ventured.

Ron nodded. "He goes to Durmstrang."

"What's his name?" Draco asked, interestedly.

"Uh," Ron looked at the ceiling. "I'd rather not say."

Hermione adopted a hurt look. "You don't trust us?"

Ron shrugged. "It's not that I don't trust you. I know that you talk to Harry a lot, and I don't want him to feel hurt."

Draco smiled. "That's funny. Harry was feeling the same way when he wrote."

"Really?" Ron asked, looking relieved. "I was so worried that it was still a sticking point. I mean, I want to be friends with him and all, but you know."

"Yeah, we know," Hermione said, patting him on the back. "What's his name, huh?"  
"Okay, fine," Ron relented. "His name is Lyall."

"Is he cute?" Hermione asked quickly, grinning.

"Yeah," Ron said, turning bright red, and then noticing her smile, laughed gently. "Sorry, he doesn't really swing your way."

"Darn," she said jokingly, wrapping her arm around Draco's back. "That's disappointing."

"Hey!" Draco said. "What about me?"

"What about you?" she replied innocently. "Just kidding!"

* * *

"I have an announcement," Mr. Weasley said that night at dinner, hitting his fork against his water glass. "Everyone be quiet." A hush fell over the table. "That's better," he said, pleased. "Now, I have two good pieces of news."

"Pieces?" Ginny said skeptically, while Fred tried to shoot peas at her through his straw. "Is news considered to be in pieces?"

"Quiet," Mr. Weasley said. "It doesn't matter. Fred stop that." Fred put down his straw for the time being.

"Let your father finish," Mrs. Weasley said angrily.

"Like I was saying!" Mr. Weasley yelled. Everyone was instantly silent. "Good news. First off, Monday is Harry's birthday. We're going to pick him up on Sunday, so that he can spend his birthday with us." Everyone cheered loudly, Sirius the loudest.

"I have more good news," said Mr. Weasley said loudly.

"Is Hermione pregnant?" he asked mischievously. Everyone glared at him.

"Of course not," Mrs. Weasley said. "What is it dear?"

Mr. Weasley was turning bright red, and staring at the ceiling as if it were about to fall down.

"The good news is that Professor Dumbledore's daughter is going to be staying with us," he said, and then sat down while the table interrupted into noise again.

"Dumbledore has a daughter?" Ginny shrieked. "How come he didn't tell us?"

"Was Dumbledore ever even married?" Fred asked. "Who'd marry him? He's a workaholic!"  
"No, Dumbledore's never been married," Mr. Weasley said calmly. "And Professor Dumbledore doesn't have to tell you everything, Ginny. If it makes you feel any better, your mother and I have known about her since her birth."

"Who's her mother?" Ron asked.

"None of your business," Mrs. Weasley said. "If the Professor wants to tell you, he will."

"How old is she?" George asked.

"She's our age," Draco replied without thinking. The Weasley children fell silent, and stared at him.

Ginny looked furious. "How do you know?"  
Draco paled. "Uh, I met her."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ron demanded.

"It wasn't really my business to tell," Draco said, staring at his plate. "I figured you'd meet her eventually."

Ginny snorted loudly "Why doesn't anyone ever tell me anything interesting? It's because I'm younger than the rest of you, isn't it?"

* * *

A/N: Yeah for updating! Wohoo! Okey dokey, I'm good. Just very tired and stuff. It was a long weekend. 

I have a major sunburn all over my back and it hurts like... yeah. Am I allowed to cuss in author's notes? Since it's technically not the story, I'm not going to push my luck.

Thanks to everyone who reviews faithfully, I love you. Everyone else... please review. It doesn't take much time, and it means a lot to me to know what you think about my writing and the plot line.

Thanks in advance, you guys rock.


	25. Pandora's Arrival

Chapter 25

Hermione couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, and wanted to run in circles around the room, but she knew that it would wake up Draco. And he was so grumpy if he didn't get enough sleep.

She wanted to open the window, but after what had happened with the Fury, she was reluctant to tempt fate. Instead, she lay down again, and closed her eyes, burying her head into the pillow. The circulation spell was working well, and slowly, she drifted into the Otherworld.

* * *

_Someone was calling her name, insistently. _

_"What?" she replied to the voice. "What do you want?" She looked around her surroundings. She was in some sort of forest. Pine needles crinkled beneath her feet, light streamed through the trees, dappling the forest floor beneath her feet._

_"It's me," someone said. She turned around to find Pandora standing in the shadow of a huge tree. She smiled mysteriously._

_"Hello, Pandora," Hermione said. "What are you doing here?"_

_"The goddess approaches," Pandora said slowly, pointing over Hermione's shoulder. Hermione turned around and found Persephone sitting on a fallen log, watching her with wide blue eyes._

_"Greetings Hermione, Pandora," Persephone said, locking eyes with them both. Pandora appeared at Hermione's side, and they both watched Persephone, in awe of her._

_"I have called you here," Persephone said, motioning to the forest. "Do either of you recognize it?"_

_They both answered negative._

_"This is the Enchanted Forest," Persephone said with a sweet smile. "Here, the Scarred Ones shall battle with the Dark Lord."_

_"Who are the Scarred Ones?" Hermione asked. "Draco and Harry?"_

_Persephone smiled. "Not just Draco and Harry. Many others."_

_"Who?"_

_"You shall see," she replied. "But you must prepare for the battle. You both must find yourselves. Find your souls."_

_"But they aren't missing," Pandora insisted._

_Persephone's smile faded. "But they are, little one," she said. "You and Hermione have a foot in my world, and a foot in the world of your birth."_

_"Persephone," Pandora said suddenly. "What are we going to do? I don't want to fight Voldemort."_

_"But you both must," Persephone said gently. _

_"Do you have any advice for us?" Hermione asked._

_"I have another prophecy," Persephone said. _

_"Tell us," Pandora said eagerly._

_"When the boy with a thousand lives, the man of the serpent's bite, the girl with the gift of sight, the one who brings life from the dirt, a woman with no hope, and true love unite, only then shall the fortress of darkness fall, and truth shall spring from death."_

_

* * *

_

Hermione awoke with a start.

"Thousand lives? Serpent's bite?" Hermione said, frustrated. "Why does she speak in riddles? No one can have a thousand lives. Life from dirt? What is that supposed to mean?"

She grabbed a piece of paper, and wrote down the prophecy. She threw the quill and parchment back onto the table, and collapsed back on the bed.

* * *

The next morning, Hermione stumbled down the stair, her eyes still blurry with sleep.

There were voices from the kitchen. She pushed the door open to find Sirius, Dumbledore, Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Pandora all standing around the table. It was strange to see Pandora dressed in normal civilian clothing, although she had lost none of her beauty.

"Hello Hermione," Pandora said, waving slightly. "Nice to see you again. Did you write down what she said? I forgot to."

"Yes, I did," Hermione said, remembering her dream. "You were there, weren't you? I was kind of hoping it was simply a very potent dream."

"Nope," Pandora replied cheerfully. "It's the end of the world. No one can have a thousand lives, and certainly no one would be running around with a serpent's bite. If I didn't know Persephone that well, I would say she's insane."  
"You two know each other already?" Sirius said, surprised.

"Yeah," Hermione said with a smile. "We met yesterday."

Dumbledore smiled, bid them all goodbye, and then vanished with a sharp crack.

"Well, come on Pandora," Mrs. Weasley said cheerfully. "Let's get you to you room."

After Mrs. Weasley and Pandora left, Sirius turned to Hermione.

"Do you know much about Pandora?" Sirius asked, his voice stricter than Hermione would have liked.

"I know a fair bit about her," Hermione replied innocently. "Why?"

"Well, I find it very strange that you and Draco were inquiring after Natalya Malfoy, and then suddenly, her daughter appears on our doorstep," Sirius snapped. "And I warned you to stay away from that family, didn't I?"

"Yes," Hermione replied, hiding her emotions.

"Why do I think that you had something to do with this?" Sirius said, motioning for her to sit. She sat, and he continued pacing.

"We didn't have much to do about it," Hermione said with a shrug. "We traced her here, and then Professor Dumbledore introduced us. That was all there was to it."

"I'm sure," Sirius replied scornfully. "Hermione, this is ridiculous. Pandora has no idea that she's related to Draco-"

"Oh, I don't?" Pandora asked icily from the doorway. "Sirius Black, you have a bad habit of assuming things. I know very well that Draco is my half-brother. I know all about my family, and I'd appreciate if you didn't go around telling everyone that I'm an ignorant little girl who can't take care of herself."

Hermione grinned at Pandora as she took a seat at the kitchen table. Sirius was completely flabbergasted.

"I'm very sorry," he finally managed to choke out.

"Apology accepted," Pandora replied haughtily, winking at Hermione. "Just don't do it again."

"Of course," Sirius replied sullenly, and he headed over to the fireplace to start making breakfast. "Won't happen again, my lady."

Pandora grinned. "No need to get all formal, everything's forgiven."

Sirius gave Hermione an askance look, as if he thought she was completely mad.

Pandora intercepted the look, and began laughing.

"You think I'm mad, don't you?" she asked.

Sirius looked as if he was about to lie, and then suddenly thought better of it. "I think you're stark raving mad," he replied recklessly. "And you'd better not set the house on fire."

"If you think I'm mad," Pandora said mirthfully. "You should meet my brother, he's insane!"

"Draco?" Sirius said, looking up from the eggs he was frying.

"No, Lucius," Pandora replied, absorbed in the table now.

Sirius glanced over at Hermione, now looking concerned. Suddenly, Pandora jumped to her feet, and ran out of the room, laughing as if something extraordinarily funny had just happened.

"Has she ever even met Luc?" Sirius asked.

"No," Hermione replied. "She hasn't."

* * *

A/N: You may think Pan's mad now, but she hasn't even gotten started! But don't worry, she's not really insane. She's just a bit eccentric! 

Thanks to all who reviewed!


	26. Harry's Return

Chapter 26

Draco was suffering from severe shock. First off, he had discovered that he had a sister. Secondly, she had been right under his nose for the last month. Thirdly, she was insane.

No, insane was not the correct term. She was psychotic. She talked to herself, ran around in medieval princess dresses, and had the worst habit of calling him 'brother dearest,' when he felt neither dear, or like her brother.

Hermione was not in the least bit understanding.

"You wanted to find her," she had replied primly when he complained. "You pay the price."

And indeed, he was paying the price. She was older than him by a few months, but tagged along after them like a puppy, constantly finding interest in the most benign and boring things. Honestly, how fascinating was Knut?

The most annoying aspect of his half-sister was her tendency to suddenly stop and start rattling off a random prophecy that could have merit, for someone on the other side of the world.

The stupid prophecies had nothing to do with them, or anyone they knew. The latest vision was about an aborigine in Australia, who, according to Pandora, was going to experience religious nirvana. Never mind that he wasn't Buddhist, he was going to achieve something that only muggles attempted.

It was absolutely infuriating.

* * *

"Hey Mum," Ginny yelled one morning as Mrs. Weasley was frying bacon. "Isn't it-"

"Harry's birthday?" Pandora finished Ginny's question, and then continued. "Who's Harry?"  
"Look, Pan," Ginny said. "Stop reading my mind. It's cool that you can do it and all, but I do like to finish my sentences."

Pan blushed. "Sorry."

"Harry's my best friend, besides Draco," Hermione explained.

"What's his last name?" Pan asked, adjusting her moose headband. Sometimes it was a bit disconcerting to see a seventeen-year- old girl running around with giant moose antlers coming out of her head, but somehow, they had all gotten use to it.

"Potter," Ginny replied, dousing her strawberries in cream. "The One and Only Harry Potter."

"Oh, the boy who must not be named?"

"No, that's the man who must not be named, Harry is the Boy Who Lived," Ginny corrected her. "Not commonly confused, but you have an excuse.'"

"Oh," Pan said with a non-committal shrug. "How many people has he killed?"  
Draco grinned, in spite of himself. "Oh loads of people."

"Harry hasn't killed anyone," Hermione said angrily, shoving Draco. "Draco's just be facetious."

"I know," Pan replied, grinning. "I was joking too."

Everyone except Draco laughed.

"Wasn't funny," he muttered.

"As if you were much funnier," Pan replied, flicking a piece of burned up bread crust at him. "Little brother."

Draco glared at her, and turned back to his bacon with a definite set to his jaw.

"Yes, Harry's coming today," Mrs. Weasley said, returning to the original subject. "Mr. Weasley and a few other aurors are going to go pick him up this morning. And no, you can't go, Ginny."

Ginny's face fell, and she scowled mightily at no one in particular.

* * *

Hermione sat on the bed, staring out the window into the blue sky, wondering if everything was right in her small world, and what was going on really. Draco entered, and saw her spacing out.

"What's up?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"Oh, I don't know," she replied tiredly. "It's so strange. I feel kind of left out, I don't know why. And I admit, even though I like Pan a lot, I don't really like sharing my powers with her."

Draco was silent for a long moment. "I understand. I like her too; but I had liked being an only child. It's strange to suddenly have two siblings, and both of them being rather insane."

"I know," Hermione laughed. "Remember? Gaelen's my brother. He's absolutely nuts. Did I tell you about the time he set the patio on fire? He was trying to blow up my cousin."

"Blow up your cousin?" Draco laughed. "What did the cousin do?"  
"Well, you've heard about Harry's cousin Dudley, right? Well, Everett's kinda like that. He eats all the time, and he's rather scary. Well, not scary in the sense that I was worried that he'll beat me up. I was more worried that he'd sit on me!"

Draco snickered. "Well, at least your brother didn't put you in jail!"

"Ha," Hermione said. "That didn't count, because Luc didn't know that you were related!"

"That's stupid," Draco replied. "He so knew."

"No, he didn't," she shot back. "He was totally innocent, and only doing what he thought was right!"

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Hermione found herself looking at Harry Potter.

"Harry!" she shrieked. She launched herself at him, and nearly dragged him down.

"Hey, Hermione," Harry said with a laugh. "How's your girlfriend?"

He made a face. "She and I are over."

"Ah," she replied lightly. "What happened?"

Harry grinned and shoved her slightly. "Artistic differences, sound familiar?"

Hermione smiled. "Yeah, sounds familiar."

It was strange having Harry around, Draco admitted to himself. It was like having his arm back, after missing it for some time. He was shocked that he had actually missed Potter, his former worst enemy. He was also surprised to find out that Harry had missed him as well.

After Hermione ran to go get Harry a drink, Harry turned to Draco.

"Hey," he said lightly. "How are you?"

"Great!" Draco replied enthusiastically. "And you?"

Harry shrugged. "Getting better."

"Good," Draco said, satisfied. "You'll have to meet my sister."

"Sister?"

"Well, technically, she's a half-sister, and she might be a bit insane, but overall, she's sweet. You'll meet her at dinner," Draco explained. "Her mother was my aunt."

"Wait-"

"Yeah," Draco said quickly. "But she and her twin were separated at birth. She was raised by Dumbledore, and my half-brother was raised in France. He's the one that got us but in jail. Supposedly he's more insane than his sister, but I don't know. She's pretty… eccentric."

"Heck," Harry laughed. "She was raised by Dumbledore, how could she not be?"

"I didn't think of that," Draco allowed grudgingly. "Maybe it's just that."

"I'm sure she's fine," Harry assured him. "Dumbledore wouldn't let her be really insane, that's his job!"

* * *

A/N: Please review:) I'm out of school tommorow! Yes...!  



	27. Dinner with Harry

Chapter 27

Hermione led Harry down the rickety old stairs, and showed him where the dining room was. The room was filled to the brim with members of the Order; Tonks, Shackelbolt, Mad-Eye, and of course, Sirius. Hermione left Harry to be with Sirius, knowing that it might be an emotional reunion.

Draco drew her away from the hubbub, and they stood watching the commotion from the corner, satisfied with the way things had turned out.

Pan showed up late, as usual, towing a very tired looking Dumbledore along.

"I dragged Dad along," she announced. "And he's very happy to be here, although he sure as heck doesn't look like it."

Everyone grinned and laughed, for indeed, Dumbledore looked dead on his feet. But he still managed to work up a smile and a wave for those who were around, and he winked at Draco when Pan finally released him.

Sirius and Harry had finished their greetings, and both were simply grinning so hard it looked as if their cheeks hurt.

Suddenly Pan flounced up to him, and stuck out her hand. Draco was relieved to see that she had discarded her moose headband, and had combed her hair flat. Usually it stuck up in the back.

"Hello, you must be Harry," she said. Everyone kept talking, but eyed the two of them out of the corners of their eyes. "I'm Pan, Draco's sister. I'm older, but I like to annoy Draco, so I don't act like it."

"Hey," Harry said, smiling genuinely. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Knowing Draco it probably wasn't all good," Pan said, shrugging. "But I love him anyway."

Draco was flushing furiously.

Pan continued, "But I'll let you make your own opinions of me." With that, she skipped off, humming off-key and under her breath. Hermione caught a faint strain of God Save the Queen, but decided that it was her imagination.

"Wow," was all Harry could say. "She's amazing!"

"Yeah," Draco said, proudly. "She is something. She's way too hyper, though."

Harry nodded. "She's beautiful."

Hermione gave Harry a funny look, and grinned when she saw the moon-struck expression on his normally stoic face.

* * *

Dinner was a raucous cacophony of noise.

Charlie and Tonks were heatedly discussing the merits of the newest version of the Firebolt; Dumbledore and Mr. Weasley were leading a fiery debate over the advantages of magic in the muggle world, and Pan was simply trying to put out the candles with her treacle pudding.

To Hermione's surprise, Harry was trying to help her.

"Try mashing it up," Harry advised, tossing his treacle pudding at the candle, and missing horrendously. "It makes it more aerodynamic."

Ron was busy shoveling food down, occasionally offering pointers for Harry and Pan.

"Underhand," he said between bites of mashed potato. "Throw it underhand."

The food was absolutely sumptuous, and Hermione found herself going back for seconds of the steak, which was marinated to perfection. It seemed there was an endless supply of food, stretching from one end of the table to the other, the legs of the table cracking and groaning under the weight.

Dessert was stupendous. Ice-cream statues and palaces, marzipan people and animals, Mrs. Weasley's famous bon-bons, and every kind of delicious pudding were brought out.

Hermione found that her skirt didn't fit as well as it had earlier when she got up after eating. Draco was also feeling tight around the waistband.

Pan and Harry had finally succeeded in putting out the candles with various projectiles, and were crowing over their victory as they went into the living room to talk with Sirius.

Mrs. Weasley managed to make the clean up effortless, with a quick swish of her wand, everything was spotless. The few dishes Tonks had tried to clean were placed in the sink for later work. She had somehow managed to burn left over potatoes onto a plate, and it would need some help.

* * *

Hermione threw on her pajamas and fell into bed, completely exhausted. It hadn't been a particularly stressful or tiring day, but with Harry's arrival and all the food had simply been overwhelming.

Draco lay down next to her, watching her as she stared at the top of the canopy of their four-poster bed.

"So," he began, thinking of all that had happened since June. "What next?"

She rolled over, and stared at him with big eyes.

"Well, you have your trial coming up," she said. "And then there's school, of course. We have to figure out what to do about Natalya. We need to protect Luc from your dad, I'm sure he's looking for both Pan and Luc. And, no doubt, we'll have some sort of run in with Voldemort. That's unavoidable. He's probably amassing his army, and we'll have a full scale war on our hands."

"War," Draco mused, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. "That'll be interesting, and probably dangerous."

"Knowing our luck," she said grimly. "We'll all get killed."

"How can we get killed?" Draco asked grinning at her. "We're best friends with a hero? And plus, you can save us again."

She smiled at ran her hand across his temple. "That's true. I just don't like bringing people back from the dead, not a pleasant trip."

"Well, being dead isn't so great either," he replied. "I can attest."

She sighed. "Well, we have so much to do, how are we ever going to get all this done?"

He laughed, and smoothed her unruly hair back from her brow. "Like we always have."

"And how's that?" she asked teasingly.  
He smiled, his beautiful gray eyes lighting up. "One step at a time, of course."

* * *

A/N: Okay, i'd just like a show of hands on this one. Do you think I should continue this story, Prophecy, or should this be the last chapter? I want to finish the story line, but just with another sequel, titled Destruction. What do you guys think?  



	28. The Trial

Chapter 28

Hermione awoke just before dawn with a huge headache. She had just been dreaming about Draco being convicted. They had taken away his wand, snapped it, and then sent him into exile and seclusion, in Afghanistan.

There wasn't anything wrong with Afghanistan, but she wanted to be with him, and according to her dream, this wouldn't be possible. She knew that the dream wasn't prophetic, she hadn't had visions in a long time, but it had been terrifying.

She pulled on some clothing, and stumbled down the stairs. Sirius was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a large bowl of porridge. Hermione grabbed a bowl, filled it, and sat down beside him.

"Get much sleep?" Sirius asked, blowing on his spoonful. She shook her head tiredly. "No."

"That's too bad," Sirius said, shaking his head. "But don't be nervous. They won't convict him of anything. It was self-defense."

"But who's going to believe that we were attacked by a Fury?" Hermione said miserably. "They're mythological."

"That is a bit of a problem," Sirius admitted, taking a big bite.

"And they'll be biased against him as well, because he's a son of a twice convicted Death Eater," she said miserably. "Oh, and I won't be able to testify."

"Why?"

"They say that since I'm going out with him, I have a loyalty to him, and I may be induced to lie for him," she said bitterly. "Which I can understand, but completely resent."

"That is strange," Sirius commented slowly. "Usually they don't take much stock in things like that. Well, Dumbledore will be there."

"I know," Hermione replied. "But what if Dumbledore's influence doesn't stretch that far? What if they put him in Azkaban?"

Sirius paled slightly at the mention of the dread prison, but plowed ahead anyway. "They won't put a kid in Azkaban."

"Sirius, we're on the brink of war," Hermione replied, standing. "They'll do what they have to to save people. They'll jail anyone they think is dangerous."

* * *

Hermione and Draco stood alone outside the Winzengamot court-room. Mr. Weasley had dropped them off, assuring them both that all would be fine, and everything would work out.

"Everything will be fine," Hermione said, straightening his jacket. "You'll do well. Justice will prevail." Her voice cracked slightly, and she bit her lip, willing herself not to cry.

"Hey," he said, lifting her chin. "Mr. Weasley's right. What could go wrong? Nothing."

"Oh, Draco," she said with a sigh. "You're too optimistic for your own good."

He smiled, and kissed her forehead. "Wish me luck."

"Luck," she replied, her stomach clenching horribly. He turned away, and disappeared into the courtroom. She took a seat in one of the plush seats outside the room, and took out her book.

Presently someone sat down beside her, and she looked up to see Harry and Pan sitting on either side of her.

"Hey," she said, putting her book into her purse. "What are you two doing here?"

"Came to see how the trial's going," Pan replied cheerfully. She had a hot pink flower painted on her forehead.

"Well," Hermione said. "It's only been going for a few minutes."

"That's good," Pan said. "Means they can't have decided anything yet."

"Who knows?" Harry said with a shrug. "My trial took half an hour, Draco's could take longer."

They waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, the door swung open. Hermione jumped to her feet, and found that both Pan and Harry were clutching her hands, supporting her.

Draco came out, alone. He stood there, grinning, and rubbing his hands together, as the Winzengamot court filed out, most of them looking rather disgruntled, the others seeming quite cheerful.

"What took you so long?" Hermione demanded, folding her arms. "It doesn't usually take that long!"

Draco shrugged. "They had a real hard time believing, but someone mentioned that someone in Devonshire had seen creatures like that I described, and that there could be merit to my claim."

"So, you aren't being fined, or anything terrible?" Pan asked matter-of-factly.

"Nope," Draco replied gleefully. "I'm so glad that they believed me, because for a second there, they were seriously considering putting me in some sort of jail for underage wizards."

Harry looked puzzled. "Is there really a jail for underage wizards?"

"Yes," Draco said, glancing around. "My mum used to threaten to send me there if I misbehaved around Aunt Bellatrix."

"Heh," Hermione snorted. "Wouldn't Bellatrix strip you to the bone and then make you jump off the roof, or something horrible?"

"Probably," Draco said, "But I won't have to find out, since we're no longer related."

* * *

"Letters!" Mrs. Weasley called that night over dinner as a large owl swooped in, delivering a pile of mail. "Looks like it's from Hogwarts!"

"School letters!" Hermione gasped. "You know what that means? We'll find out if we're Head Boy or Girl, Draco!"  
"Good luck," Harry said gloomily. "I won't get anything again, watch."

Mr. Weasley handed out the letters to all six of the children who would be attending Hogwarts in September. Pan inspected her letter carefully, as if it would explode.

Hermione gently opened her's, and pulled out the letter.

"I'm Head Girl!" she screamed. "Oh god, Mum and Dad'll be so proud!"

"So am I!" Draco exclaimed. "What a lucky break!"

"Wait, that can't be," Harry interjected suddenly, completely flabbergasted. "It says I am too! That can't be possible."

"You're right," Hermione said, drooping. "There are only one Head girl and boy, this is very strange."

"You'll have to get Dumbledore to explain at the beginning of the year," Mrs. Weasley said, bringing out a giant platter of fish and chips. "Because he's not coming back to visit, he has too much to do at Hogwarts before the start of term. It's hard business completely sealing off the campus and making it safe."

"Understandably," Harry said, "But I don't understand. I can't be Head Boy, because Head implies that he is the best, but I'm not the best."

"And neither am I," Draco said quickly. "So, how do you choose that sort of thing? And what if other people got Head as well, what do we do?"

"I don't know," Hermione replied firmly. "We'll just have to wait and find out."

"It always seems that we do a lot of waiting," Ron said dejectedly. "Wait, wait, wait."

"Well," Pan said, suddenly very philosophical. "It's better than being dead."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked rudely.

She eyed him, and then smiled.

Everyone relaxed slightly.

But everyone who sat at that table that night, would never forget what Pandora said next.

"You'll see," she said. "You'll see."


End file.
